The Things That Men Do
by LolaLoo
Summary: Starting with the final scenes of Never Fade Away, what happened to the gang? Who will Buffy find still standing? Please review! NOW COMPLETE, WOOHOOOOO!
1. Never Fade Away

Deep beneath the city streets, a rat scuttled through the sewers. Suddenly, it stopped dead in its tracks, its nose twitching nervously. The ground began to shake violently and the rat raced away, but not in time to avoid the concrete shattering and splitting to reveal a gaping hole that seemed to stretch in to the very depths of Hell. A Hell that now began to erupt on to the streets of Los Angeles.

oooOOOooo

Gunn blinked hard, desperately trying to focus on the demon hordes approaching and ignore the screeches of the dragon far above that sent shivers to his core. He knew that this was going to be it for him, this was his last stand.

The wound in his gut was hurting less now. Gunn figured it was partly due to the distraction of a host of mass-murdering demons charging towards him and partly because he simply didn't have long left to worry about it.

He had been expecting this day to come for so long and suddenly it was here. No matter how much he had longed for it during the long nights of his vampire-infested youth, it had still come too soon. He'd been fighting with Angel and the gang too long. He'd gotten used to winning.

But now the gang was gone. Cordelia had never really recovered from her coma, Lorne had left, Connor was someone else completely, Wesley was dead and Fred…

He glanced at the strange creature standing in front of him, mourning the loss of Wesley. He was looking at a demon that had taken over the body of the sweet and gentle woman he had once loved, though she was still stood there with them, willing to fight from within Fred's body.

But Fred, the real Fred, she was long since gone. Just like his sister Alana. All of them killed by the evil threatening this world. He had gotten used to shades of grey in his formerly black and white existence. Hanging out with a green-skinned karaoke-singing demon, allying himself to a vampire with a soul and working for Wolfram and Hart would do that to you. It had also brought them here, to the end of the world.

Gunn knew that they were about to face the full fury of the Senior Partners. It seemed that every single resident of Hell had come out to play in this one little alley, and all that stood between them and world destruction was Angel and his band of merry men.

Flinching as he leaned his back against the damp wall, Gunn looked around at what was left of his fellow fighters. Spike's bleached blonde head was bobbing in the darkness next to Angel, full of the nervous excitement and adrenaline that comes before a stand. Illyria stood behind the only two vampires in existence to have a conscience, her eyes glazed with grief. Angel looked back at him, a concerned look in his eye.

Gunn straightened up as best he could on the box he'd been sat on. The pain may have lessened but it was still there. He nodded at Angel, the guy who risked everything time and again to save the world and defeat his demons, and then returned his gaze to the fast approaching hordes. Gunn looked at the others in turn, biting back the tears he felt for all the others who should have been there with them.

"Ok. You take the 30,000 on the left…"

Illyria took a step toward him, her grief mixed with what appeared to be mild concern for Gunn as she stared at his wound.

"You're fading. You'll last ten minutes at best."

Ignoring the finality in her tone and the fact he knew she was right, Gunn staggered to his feet.

"Then let's make 'em memorable."

Angel stepped forward in the alley, the others flanked round him. Spike glanced at their de facto leader.

"In terms of a plan?"

Angel's eyes never left the demons charging towards them.

"We fight."

"Bit more specific…"

Angel's gaze turned upward, ignoring Spike's sarcastic tone.

"Well, personally, I kind of want to slay the dragon."

The demons were just feet away now and coming fast. With the adrenaline pumping through his veins, Gunn could barely feel his wound. Angel's voice carried over the clamour of the crowd as he swung his sword in to the path of the oncoming storm.

"Let's go to work."

And with that command, Gunn took his homemade axe and followed orders for the very last time.


	2. A Memory & A Dream

The sounds of battle could be heard for miles around. The people fled, fearing for their lives as earthquakes shook the city. Running through the streets, Connor knew exactly what was happening. He knew his real father was out there, at the centre of that noise, and fighting for the lives of every person on the face of this planet.

Connor could see his adopted parents at the end of the road, frantically searching the crowds for him. He stopped and looked back toward the city. Plumes of smoke rose above them, bringing with them the stench of death.

He took one more longing glance at his parents and ran back the way he had come, heading straight for the battle. He knew where he belonged.

oooOOOooo

Angel had lost sight of the others what felt like hours ago. He carried on fighting though, carried on swinging his sword and getting in the punches. He knew the odds of success were always impossible, even when the first seeds of the idea had formed in his head. Now, in the midst of his final battle, he was starting to wonder if it had been the right choice.

Almost on auto-pilot, Angel continued the fight with the never-ending fiends even as he remembered his last conversation with Cordelia. He could see her now, stood inside his plush offices at Wolfram and Hart, looking at him the way only someone who loved you ever could. He could still hear her voice, could still feel her beside him. Still fighting for his life, the memory of their last conversation played out in his mind.

He remembered sitting beside her. He remembered the way she smelt, that sweet fruity scent that always meant she was close. He remembered what he said.

_"I know it's not even close to over, but I do feel like I can do this. Wolfram and Hart, whatever's coming, I feel like we can beat it."_

_She had smiled at him then, that same old beautiful smile._

_"I know."_

_"You do?"_

_"I always did. I… I just needed you to know it too… You'll win this in the end."_

_"I need you here. Cordy, there's just -"_

_She had laid a gentle hand on his cheek then as she fought back the tears._

_"Don't make it hard, Angel. I'm just on a different road... and this is my off-ramp. The Powers That Be owed me one, and I didn't waste it. I got my guy back on track. We take what we can get, champ, and we do our best with it. I'll be seeing you."_

The memory faded as a Krototh demon's enormous fist connected with Angel's temple. He swung round, ducking beneath the extended arm of another demon, and rose up in front of the Krototh, his sword impaling both the demon and the one behind. Angel leaned back to avoid the vampire lunging toward him and, in one swift motion, withdrew the sword and swung it through the air, decapitating the vampire and mortally wounding his slimey companion. Angel didn't even pause, aware the hundreds of demons that surrounded him never would.

He had taken what he could get and he was doing his best with it. For Cordelia, for Wesley, for Gunn, for Fred, for Doyle, for Connor. For Buffy…

oooOOOooo

Buffy curled her lithe legs beneath her as she relaxed on the bench, letting the glorious sunshine warm her. She loved Italy. The sights, the smells, the freedom she now had since all the potential Slayers had been tapped. She was beginning to feel like a normal girl. A normal girl with a boyfriend called The Immortal, of course, but for her, that actually _was_ normal.

She looked down at the book in her hands, opening the cover to reveal the familiar handwriting and that one word. Always.

He had given her the poetry on her eighteenth birthday and she had cherished it ever since. Even after he left, even after she died, even after all the evil, she still cherished it because she still cherished him.

She held the book to her chest and let his name escape her lips.

"Angel…"

Buffy had been thinking about him a lot recently though she wasn't sure why. Jonathan had let slip that he and Spike had been in Rome looking for her about a month before. Her initial reaction to the news was one of anger, the fact that the two of them were swanning around the world together and had not thought to actually tell her - the supposed love of both their immortal lives - that Spike was alive again. She had been tempted to call Angel, to tell him exactly what she thought of him, but had managed to resist the urge.

Since then, she had been trying to tell herself that it was his recent fleeting visit that was why Angel was so prominent in her thoughts. But she knew deep down that wasn't it. As the Slayer, she had learnt to never ignore her instincts and right now, her spider senses were tingling like crazy. She had toyed with the idea of calling Giles and trying to find out if Angel might be in trouble. But she had never picked up the phone. She couldn't face it.

She laid the book down gently beside her and stared up in to the clear blue sky, enjoying the faint smell of oranges on the breeze as she sunk into the cushions. Buffy knew if she went back, if she saw Angel again, all those old feelings would resurface and she wasn't ready to re-open old wounds.

She let her eyes close, she let herself slip away in to the memories of what she could never have.

"Buffy…"

Her eyes sprung open and Buffy jumped from the bench. She spun around, her fists clenched and ready to fend off the intruder. A figure stood beneath the enormous tree that dominated the garden, their face hidden in the shadows.

"Who are you?"

"A friend."

Wesley stepped out of the shadows. He smiled at her but it didn't reach his eyes. Buffy lowered her fists and stepped forward.

"Wes? What are you doing in Italy?"

He walked away from her, looking up at the clear sky and closing his eyes as he let the sunshine wash over him with a smile. It soon faded. As Buffy came to his side, he opened his eyes and cast her a serious glance. She laid a gentle hand on his forearm.

"Wesley, what's happened?"

"It's not something I can explain. You need to see for yourself."

He turned to face her full on, his fingertips pressing on her temples. Buffy darted backwards, suspicion and confusion obvious in her expression. Wesley gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm sorry Buffy, this is the only way. You have to see to understand. If you don't understand, you'll never be able to help him or anyone else. The world is ending."

He stepped forward again and this time, Buffy let him touch her though she was still suspicious. Wesley's eyes closed and she felt a strange tingling sensation spread across her forehead as he chanted incantations under his breath. The world around her began to swirl, slowly at first but then more violently. Buffy felt sick from dizziness and wanted to pull away.

"Wesley, what the hell are you…"

Her voice trailed off as she looked around. Her former Watcher was now stood at her side and they were in a dark alley, the rain pelting them. Buffy swallowed hard.

"Well, Toto, it looks like we aren't in Kansas anymore."

Wesley glanced at her, and pointed towards the end of the alley.

"I told you Buffy, you need to see to understand."

A figure was hurrying through the darkness. He stopped and looked around. Buffy could not see his face. She didn't need to.

"Angel…"

She ran towards him but stopped short when she saw Spike emerge from the shadows. Buffy looked back at Wesley. He was still just pointing towards the two vampires. She turned back to them, just in time to see a young black man staggering forward. Angel and Spike helped him to sit on a crate as a strange-looking woman jumped down from the fence. Buffy couldn't hear what the woman had said, but it obviously upset the others.

Rushing forward, Buffy called Angel's name. He didn't seem to hear her as he was busy talking to the others. She stopped right behind him, reaching out to touch his shoulder when he finally turned. He seemed to look right through her. Frustrated, she yelled his name louder and louder. Buffy tried to grab him, to shake some sense in to him, but she passed right through him.

Shocked, she stared at Wesley who was now right in front of her.

"Wesley, what the hell is going on?"

"I told you that you had to _see_. That's all, Buffy. This is what is happening right now, a world away. This is how the love of your life is going to die."

Speechless, Buffy spun on her heel and marched back towards Angel. But it was then she saw what was coming.

Charging down the alley ahead, hundreds upon hundreds of demons were headed straight for the rag tag bunch. Buffy took a step forward, fear clenching her stomach.

"Wesley…"

The Englishman was beside her again, a tired sigh escaping him as he hung his head.

"Angel's brought on the apocalypse. The earth's going to Hell in a handbasket. Well… In an alley actually."

Buffy couldn't tear her eyes away from the army getting ever closer.

"They're all going to die. Angel, Spike…."

Buffy paused as she looked back at the gang.

"Hang on, where are you? Where's Cordelia?"

Wesley smiled sadly as he took a step closer to the Slayer, his fingertips hovering above her temples.

"Our time already came and went. We can not help in this battle, not like you can. Not like you _must_. He needs you, Buffy, everyone does. This is it. This is judgement day."

Buffy's eyes were drawn back to Angel, his sword raised ready to fight.

"So what do I do?"

"You help. You save the world. Again."

Buffy's eyes sprung open. She was still lying on the bench. She'd been asleep.

Sitting up slowly, Buffy tried to gather herself. She grabbed her cell phone and punched in Giles' number, desperate for some answers. With the ringing sounding in her ears, she looked down at the book laying crumpled on the ground. Carefully, she picked it up, her fingers tracing the simple inscription. Always…


	3. A Friendly Warning

High above the furore of battle, a lone figure stood on the edge of the building watching events unfold. The demons swarmed below, clambering over one another and even fighting amongst themselves to get their chance with the three remaining good guys.

oooOOOooo

The figure searched the commotion for the fourth, the brave human with the weapon's name, but he was lost in the swirl of battle. He had been mortally wounded to begin with and this was never a human's fight. This was the realm of champions.

The shadowy figure turned, looking in to the distance. Still miles away, a boy was approaching fast, heading straight for this war. The impossible child from the union of two vampires. He was coming. It would all soon be in place.

The stranger's attention returned to the scene below with a wearied sigh, before disappearing back in to the shadows.

Spike felt the axe bury in to his shoulder before he knew the demon was even there. Spinning round, he broke the demon's neck with one swift punch. Ducking under another swing by a demon, the type of which he'd never seen before, Spike ripped the axe out of the top of his shoulder. He swung it up and round in a wide arc, freeing up enough space in front of him to concentrate on what was behind.

He knew he was on the losing side of an epic battle. He knew that he was never going to get through this. For some reason though, the occasional glimpses he caught of Angel and Illyria gave him hope.

Spike kicked some type of horned beast in the chest and used the motion to fling himself upwards, jumping over the demons and manoeuvring himself so he had his back to the wall of the alley. That made one less angle he had to defend.

Glancing around as he blocked blows and parried punches, Spike caught sight of Angel. He had the grim look of someone just waiting for the inevitable. Spike watched as Angel disappeared from sight behind the enormous bulk of another of Hell's warriors. Spike felt an odd pang of fear and, despite the hordes doing their best to kill him, attempted to angle himself to see his old sire again.

He caught another glimpse of Angel, bobbing and weaving as he fought. He disappeared again behind another demon and Spike carried on his own fight.

A few seconds later, he felt his attention inexplicably drawn back to where Angel had been. And all Spike could see was dust on the breeze.

oooOOOooo

Connor was still at least a mile from the epicentre of the battle. At least, he figured he was by the focused fire breathing of an enormous dragon circling overhead. He raced on, desperate to know if the father he had only just found was still alive or if he had lost him forever.

Buffy slammed her fist into Giles' desk, causing Willow to retreat towards the window.

"Don't you dare tell me there's nothing I can do!"

Giles blinked rapidly, raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"Buffy, I understand your frustration, but if your dream is correct then the battle is already well under way and need I remind you that we're in Rome. It's at least a ten hour flight to Los Angeles. By the time, you get there Angel…"

She shot him a vicious look and Giles started polishing his glasses.

"Well, the battle would be done one way or another."

Buffy started pacing up and down, refusing to accept what her former Watcher was saying even though she knew he was right.

"Then why would Wesley come to me, why would he make me see this?"

Giles opened his mouth to respond, but it was an unfamiliar voice that sounded from the doorway.

"I think I know."

Buffy spun on her heel as the demon stepped in to the light. He wore a brightly coloured suit covered in a beige mac, a trilby hat perched on his horns above aviator shades. The Slayer instinctively rushed to Giles' bookcase, yanking a sword from on top of it and pointing it directly at the demon's chest.

The green thing came to an abrupt halt, his hands raised in surrender.

"Woah there, sweet cheeks! Just cos I'm green doesn't mean you have to run me through right here and now. And trust me, if you're going for my heart, you'll be wanting my peachy behind. Living proof of the power of 'Buns of Steel'."

"Lorne?"

Willow charged towards him, pushing Buffy aside.

"Lorne, it's you!"

She pulled a face as she took a step closer to him, leaning in almost conspiratorially.

"You're not about to ask me to sing are you?"

He laughed and shook his head.

"Not just yet, my little red-topped muffin. How's my favourite magically charged mortal?"

Willow grinned and hugged him. Buffy threw a puzzled glance at Giles who simply shrugged. Buffy took a step forward, her sword lowered but still ready for action if the need arose.

"Err, sorry to interrupt the reunion guys, but huh?"

Willow grinned at her and gestured wildly at Lorne.

"This is Lorne! He's a demon, but ya know, the good kind. He can read people's destinies but only when they sing."

Lorne reached out his hand with an enormous smile as he removed the shades.

"The infamous Buffy Summers I presume. Well, colour me honoured. If honoured is a shade of green obviously…"

Buffy took his hand with a raised eyebrow.

"And you and Willow know each other because…?"

Lorne flopped in to the chair opposite Giles, examining the enormous dent Buffy had left behind in it.

"Ooh, someone's been eating their spinach. Willow's helped us out a few times. Us being Angelcakes and the gang. Which leads me to why I'm here."

He sighed heavily and seemed to deflate somehow, a look of pain across his face. Buffy perched herself on the edge of the desk as he gathered himself, regaining his usual showman's face.

"I'm guessing you're about to tell us something along the lines of enormous apocalypse, world needs saving, the usual. Wesley gave me the heads up."

Lorne's eyes locked on hers.

"You spoke to Wesley? Then he's alright? What about the others?"

Buffy averted her gaze and cleared her throat.

"I didn't really speak to him. Not in the sense of he and I having a proper conversation. More along the lines of otherworldly dream invasion. He said that… He said he and Cordelia…"

Lorne's face fell and he looked away.

"Wesley's… At least now he can find some peace with Fred."

Willow let out a yelp from behind Lorne.

"Fred's dead?"

Lorne looked up at her with a slight nod. He looked around the room at the blank faces.

"Wow, Angelcakes really knows how to keep people out of the loop. Let me give you the skinny. The world as we know it is ending right now, in the middle of Los Angeles. Personally, if I was a legion from Hell, I'd pick somewhere a little more… I dunno, start in Australasia and build up from there. Guess the Senior Partners never played Risk as kids…"

Giles raised an eyebrow.

"The Senior Partners?"

Lorne nodded.

"The guys running Wolfram and Hart, the big evil law firm. These guys have the serious bad mojo on their side and they've been around since the dawn of time. Probably even before that, knowing them. Basically, they wanted to rein Angel in so they gave him their LA office to run, hoping that they'd turn him to the dark side of the force before the apocalypse came about. Looked like it was working too. Not that our favourite brood boy avoids the dark, but we all knew something was different. The outfits alone… Anyway, it was all an act. Angel was really planning to bring about the apocalypse on his own terms."

Buffy swallowed hard.

"From what I saw, he wasn't exactly fighting on his own terms."

Lorne nodded.

"That's why I'm here, sugar puff. We knew we could never take on the full might of Wolfram & Hart and win. But we tried. Problem is, we just opened the gates to Hell and I'm worried there's gonna be no-one left to close them."

Buffy looked exasperated and renewed her pacing round the room.

"Why didn't he tell me about this? Why didn't he call!"

Her anger was on the verge of overflowing but even Lorne, stranger as he was, knew it was mainly down to her concern for Angel.

"Because this wasn't your fight, Buffy. It never was. Until now."

She spun to face him, still finding it odd to feel so comfortable in a demon's presence.

"Is that why you're here then, he sent you?"

"Err, no, not exactly. Personally, I was running for the hills. Planning on a little Julie Andrews' spinning and singing on a mountain top but… The game turned sour for me a long time ago but I love this world and I love my friends. I can't let it end like this. After all, a yellow belly would clash with my usual skin tone."

Giles rose from his chair, grim determination on his face.

"So what do we do?"

Lorne turned back to Buffy, manoeuvring her to sit in the chair.

"Now I set us all back on the right path."

Willow's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"You mean Buffy has to sing?"

The Slayer looked around frantically, praying for some escape route.

"Afraid so, kiddo. Wesley chose to come to you after he…passed on. That means he knows you can do some good, and hopefully stop the world being sucked in to hell. Not for the first time, from what I hear. Anyway, let's get those pipes a-pumping."

Buffy shook her head wildly, pleading with her eyes. The faces of the others told her that there was no other way. Grimacing, she cleared her throat and remembered the song her mother used to sing when she couldn't sleep as a child. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her voice tentative.

"You are my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away…"

She trailed off and opened her eyes, focusing on Lorne's distraught face.

"What? What did you see?"

He swallowed hard and shook his head.

"We're too late."


	4. A Voice From The Grave

Illyria felt the shell sting once again as cold metal managed to pierce her armour. These lower beings were starting to annoy. She launched herself at the four in front, creating a domino effect as they stumbled backwards into one another. Spinning, her fist reduced another demon's skull to ruins.

The violence she inflicted was no longer providing a sufficient enough distraction to the obscure pain she felt from within this fragile shell. The surface memories of the one they called Fred had begun to invade her thoughts. She did not like it.

As she landed a roundhouse kick squarely in yet another demon's face, Illyria spun again and sent another body flying. It amused her that she was now placed within a circle of bodies, the demon blood and internal organs making the ground slick as it mixed with the rain. Illyria kept her balance easily, watching each enemy scramble over its fallen comrades as it attempted to attack.

One by one, she picked them off. From Fred's memories, a song passed through her mind and Illyria cocked her head to one side, wondering why ten green bottles were suddenly in her thoughts. The distraction gave the enormous demon barrelling through the crowd a split second to land a vicious blow. Illyria was floored, her eyes flaring with anger.

If only she had her full power, she would make this entire army fall to bended knee and worship her like so many before. Instead, she was left attempting to prevent the enormous axe from being buried in her head. She flipped to her feet, dodging blows as she tore the axe from the demon - complete with it's right arm - and swiftly decapitated it.

Illyria could no longer see Gunn nor Angel. Warriors both, she felt another pang deep in her gut. She had no grief left. Wesley had taken it all. She swung the axe and kept fighting. The distraction of the hordes from Hell was not much, but right then it was all she had.

oooOOOooo

Connor came to a sudden stop at least a block from where the battle seemed to be raging. Between him and his father were rows and rows of police cars, their occupants all surging forward in a misguided attempt to stop the legions of hell.

Knowing that he'd never get past them, Connor veered into a nearby alley. Jumping on top of a dumpster, he easily flung himself the ten feet up to the fire escape. Scrambling up the side of the ladders, he was soon on the roof.

Running along the building edge, Connor felt his heart racing as he sped toward the sounds of war. Passing the police charging forward to certain death below, the first real tinges of fear began to grip at his belly.

Finally, he was looking down at the alley. The scene was incredible, in the most horrific sense of the word.

Demons of all shapes and sizes were pouring out of a giant chasm in the ground, clawing over one another to surge down the tight confines of the alley. Growls, howls and screams emanated from below, accompanied by the foul stench of sulphur.

Connor gagged, frozen to the spot as he watched the Senior Partners' revenge spreading outwards. The police - despite their numbers and their guns - were no match for the army they were facing and were quickly overpowered. The demons charged over their bodies, like an ocean wave crashing on to the shore.

He knew they would never stop, they would never end, not unless…

Connor's eyes scanned the mayhem below, searching for some hint of his father. He could not seen anything through the haze of smoke and ash, coming from the fires littered around the scene.

He crouched on the edge of the building and dropped down on to the fire escape, pausing above the battle below. The fear was almost overwhelming him now and he swallowed hard, closing his eyes.

What the hell was he thinking? Yes, he could kind of remember the person he was before Angel let some guy do the mojo on his memories, but did he really think he could do this? This was deep blue hero stuff and he was just a kid.

Connor opened his eyes and surveyed the scene. He nodded to himself, knowing that he had to do something. Swallowing back the fear, he launched himself off the building and in to the fracas below, praying that he'd somehow get through it.

oooOOOooo

Buffy was leaning over Lorne, invading his space with her menacing glare.

"What do you mean we're too late?"

Lorne raised his hands in defence as he looked back up at the Slayer, understanding her pain.

"I mean, people have died for this Buffy. Ever thought of, I don't know, _not_ shooting the messenger? Or running him through with a sword…"

Buffy shot him a withering look as she spun on her heel to face Willow.

"We've got to get to Los Angeles. _Now_. We have to stop this."

A frown creased Willow's features as she shook her heads.

"Buffy, no, I mean, I know what you want me to do, but I can't just teleport you there. It's really a one-Willow trip... Speaking of, how did you get here? If you were with Angel and everyone, how did you get here so fast?"

Behind her, Giles made a strange noise. The other three turned to look at him, eyebrows raised, but the Watcher no longer seemed with them. He was murmuring under his breath, seemingly having a conversation with himself. Buffy glanced at Willow but she could only return a fellow look of confusion. Lorne's voice pulled them back to the problem at hand.

"If I may? English over here is whipping up some major mystic woo woo to get you folks to the other side of the world, and that's great, seeing as it's the same message I got from the same old friend, but I need you to deliver a message for me."

Buffy frowned.

"You mean Giles is… What's the message and who's it for?"

"Angel."

Buffy's eyes widened.

"But you said we were too late."

"It is. Angel died. But there's someone watching over him. You of all people should know that no-one stays dead for long round here, especially those who are already dead in the first place. Does anyone else find that whole concept both confusing and a little weird, kinda like how they get the pimentos in the olives…"

He trailed off under the weight of both Buffy and Willow's stares.

"Just tell him Lindsey's gone, and I did what he asked. That and I came to help you. Oh, and that his signed copy of 'Songs for the Love Lorne' is in the mail to replace the other one that disappeared so mysteriously. But right now, you best get a listening cos the big guys about to help you out."

Giles' slammed his fist in to the table, a mixed expression of glee and confusion on his face. Willow's nose twitched.

"Lorne's right, he's working some big mojo."

She turned to ask the green guy what was going on but all that was left was an empty chair. Instead, Willow took a nervous step towards the former librarian.

"Giles? You ok?"

Buffy watched nervously as her former Watcher gesticulated wildy, his words jumbling together in the race to leave his lips. Suddenly, his eyes went wide and he swayed there a moment, letting out the longest sigh either girl had ever heard, before collapsing into the chair.

The girls rushed to his side, concern etched on their faces. Giles blinked rapidly and shakingly removed his glasses to polish. He focused on his two girls and smiled weakly.

"I know how we can get there. Oh, and Wesley says hello."


	5. A Helping Hand

Angel found himself stood in the middle of the Hyperion Hotel lobby, utterly confused. He patted himself down to find there wasn't a scratch on him. He froze, recognising a familiar scent. He sighed heavily and shrugged.

"So this is what it's like to be dead then, huh?"

He turned, staring straight into Cordelia's mega-watt grin. She cocked her head to one side and looked him up and down appraisingly. She took a step toward him and grasped his hand.

"Told you I'd be seeing ya."

He pulled her into a tight embrace, squeezing her hard. She hugged him back, wanting to stay in that moment for as long as she could but Cordelia knew there wasn't enough time. There was never enough time.

She pulled away, holding him back at arm's length.

"You're not dead, Angel."

He frowned, looking around them at the familiar surroundings so full of memories.

"So what's going on then?"

She smiled slightly, raising her left hand in to the air. It glowed a brilliant white and the hotel faded away. Angel found himself in the middle of the alley again, still surrounded by demons. A few feet away in either direction, he could see Spike and Illyria.

Everything had been frozen in place, even the dragon that now hung static above the scene. Angel turned his gaze back to Cordelia.

"You did this? You froze everyone?"

She stepped away from him, examining the demon statues caught in mid-swing and pulled a disgusted face at the blood and gore.

"The joy of being a higher being."

Cordelia spun round to face Angel, wagging an accusatory finger at him.

"It's for real this time, I swear! The Powers That Be showed me where my true path led and it meant leaving all this behind. Shame… Apocalyptic battles are great cardio."

Angel nodded slowly, staring at the ground.

"And then you died."

She took a step toward him but stopped herself from getting any closer, her voice barely a whisper.

"I hung on as long as I could in that coma. For you…"

He cleared his throat and looked around, looking anywhere but at her.

"So now what?"

Cordelia grinned.

"Now it ends. At least for the moment.

Angel watched as she closed her eyes, lifting her hands skyward as light seemed to emanate from her every pore, gradually reaching a brilliant white crescendo. Blinking hard as the light subsided.

Angel could only watch as the demons closest to them turned a glowing orange and then burst in to a shower of sparks. This created a domino effect, rushing backwards through the crowd. The last to go was the enormous dragon above them.

As the glowing embers fell down to earth, Angel couldn't help but have a disgruntled pout.

"Hey, I wanted to slay the dragon!"

Cordelia rolled her eyes as Spike staggered towards them, looking dishevelled.

"What the hell just happened? Where did everybody… Bloody hell, Cordelia? Ok, seriously, what the hell is going on?"

She opened her mouth to reply but Illyria cut her off.

"You have power. You are immortal. You turned their bones to ash."

Cordelia shrugged.

"Couldn't have put it better myself."

Spike just stared at her as Angel staggered forward.

"Gunn…"

His broken body lay on the unforgiving concrete in a pool of his own blood. As Angel knelt beside him, he could swear he saw the ghost of a smile on his dead friend's lips. He felt Cordelia's hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her, his eyes pleading. She could only offer him a sad smile.

"I'm sorry Angel. This was his time. As much I as I wish I could give him back to you, I can't. Just like I can't bring back Wesley."

The last comment she directed at Illyria who immediately broke Cordelia's gaze, a single tear on her cheek.

Cordelia leant down and took Angel's hand.

"There _is_ someone I can help though."

Angel cast her an exasperated glance as she dragged him to his feet and pulled him down the alleyway.

"Oh God, you're not going to say me are you? Because depressed as I am right now, I really don't need some spiritual cleansing, bright light mojo."

Cordelia stopped suddenly and Angel nearly rammed right in to her. She simply pointed ahead of them without a single word and Angel raced forward, an anguished cry escaping him that brought the others running. Spike came to an abrupt halt at Cordelia's side.

"Is that…"

She nodded silently as she knelt by Connor's head. Angel, inconsolable, clutched his son's lifeless hand in his own, his tears disappearing in the rain. He looked up at Cordy and her heart broke to see his pain.

"I told him to leave! I wanted him to be safe."

Cordelia laid a gentle hand on Angel's face and smiled broadly.

"And he will be Angel. I told you I'd help."

She leant over Connor's body and rubbed her hands together.

"Wax on…"

She rotated her hands in concentric circles over Connor's chest. The same glow she had revealed before extended downwards, covering her entire body. Angel stared in disbelief, still clutching his son's hand despite the fact that it was now glowing.

"Wax off…"

Cordelia muttered under her breath and the light enveloping Connor's broken form began to fade. Angel waited but nothing seemed to be happening. The light was gone and still his son just lay there.

He looked at Cordelia, desperation and frustration in his eyes, but she only smiled. Suddenly, Connor's chest lurched upwards as he gasped for air, his eyes flung open. Cordelia lay a soothing hand on his cheek.

"Shh, sweetie, shhh… It's ok now, it's ok."

Connor blinked rapidly, his mouth opening to speak but he never got the chance as Angel scooped him up in his arms.

"Oh thank God, thank God!"

Cordelia cleared her throat loudly.

"Err, thank _Cordy_ I think you'll find."

Angel grinned over the top of Connor's head and she grinned back as she stood, leaving the pair to their reunion.

Connor's voice was muffled against his father's chest.

"Hey! Hey, Angel! Can't… Breathe…"

Angel released his hold on Connor but couldn't bear to let him go entirely.

"Sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I'm just so glad you're alright. But what the hell are you doing here anyway? I told you to leave!"

Connor shrugged, offering up a shy smile.

"After what happened at the lawyer's place, I knew… End of the world kinda stuff, right? I had to make sure that my old man wasn't, you know, letting the side down."

Angel pulled him back into another tight embrace and Connor made no move to stop him.

Spike cleared his throat loudly and Cordelia arched an irritated eyebrow in his direction.

"What is it Spike?"

He shrugged as he lit himself a cigarette.

"Not that I'm not grateful for the rescue, love, but this ain't gonna be the end of this, is it? I mean daddy dearest over here pissed the Senior Partners off something rotten.

Cordelia glanced upward and sighed.

"As much as I hate to say this, Spike's right. The Senior Partners had an apocalypse scheduled and just because you made them have one, it doesn't mean they won't stick to their original timetable. The Powers That Be helped you out this time guys. I can't guarantee I'll be around next time."

Angel staggered to his feet, pulling Connor up with him.

"And is the big one that's coming? The final apocalypse?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes, flinging her eyes up in exasperation.

"Angel, how many times have you seen the world about to end? There is no final apocalypse, no big win one way or the other. There will always be a battle between good and evil. You know why?"

Angel looked down at his son, remembering a conversation he had years before with Wolfram and Hart's Holland Manners.

"Because there's evil right here, in the hearts of men. Inside every man and woman on this planet, that's where the battle really is."

Spike snorted with laughter.

"Well, that's one moment I'm glad Hallmark don't cater for. Look pet, just tell us what's going to happen now. You got the know how haven't you?"

Cordelia glared at him, hands on hips.

"I became part of a higher plane of existence. I didn't become a magic eight ball!"

Angel watched her approach him, realising just how much he had missed her.

"Cordy…"

She smiled at him, but it was bitter sweet.

"I got the big guys to let me help my guy out. Again. This doesn't end Angel, not yet. So many prophecies, so little time."

Spike darted into Cordelia's field of vision.

"You mean that whole Shang Shuey thing? Where the vampire with a soul gets to become human and redeem themselves and all that? It's gonna be me, isn't it pet? Come on, little miss glow worm, give us a clue!"

Cordelia's gaze never left Angel's face but he averted his eyes. He had signed away his chance to a mortal life, his redemption, in an effort to convince the Circle of the Black Thorn that he was truly on their side.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Spike."

He laid a loving hand on Connor's shoulder, feeling the emotion rising within as his son looked back up at him.

"That's not why we fight."

Cordelia nodded slowly, her smile sad, and Angel realised she knew what he had done. He cleared his throat and straightened up.

"So what's with the prophecies? I mean, without Wesley, without Fred…"

Cordy shook her head.

"No Angel, I told you, I can't bring them back. But with every door that closes… Well I'd hate to go all cryptic higher power on you but I'd say your answer will be rolling in to town in about, oh, five minutes. Which means it's time to go."

She turned to Illyria.

"Ok Big Blue, you go to that mansion and get Wesley. Connor, Spike, go get Gunn. They don't deserve to be left like this. They were Champions."

The three of them moved off silently, a sombre mood over each one. Angel reached took a step forward, his hand reaching out to hers.

"Cordy…"

She laid a gentle finger on his lips.

"I loved you Angel. I guess I always did. And I truly believe that you loved me too. But that was then and this is now. I'm gone and I can't ever come back again, not the way you want me to anyway. And you know what? That's ok. I'm doing some real good now and I can still protect you, I can still guide you in the right direction. I moved on, Angel, and now you need to as well. Properly. Not like what you were doing with Eve. You might have burnt some bridges in the past but it doesn't kill the love. It never dies. When you see her again, you'll know that. So tell her."

Angel's hand fell to his side as Cordelia turned away from him and walked down the alley. She paused, grinning over her shoulder.

"Oh, and just in case all that product's thickened that dense head of yours, that was me guiding you kiddo. Enjoy the ride."

And with a flash of light she was gone.


	6. Hope And Goodbyes

Buffy sat in the window seat of Giles' office, staring out over the streets below without really seeing anything. Behind her, Willow and Giles were busy mixing up herbs and potions while pouring over ancient books.

The Slayer knew that the magic her friends were about to perform would get them to LA within minutes of the spell being ready but she did not feel any real sense of urgency, not after what Lorne had said.

She was confused. He had told her that Angel had died and in that one moment, her entire world had collapsed around her ears. They had been apart for years, they barely spoke, but she still loved him. And to hear that he was gone without her being able…

Buffy caught herself mid-thought. Without being able to what? She was in a relationship with someone else and, from the rumours she had heard, Angel was with someone too. It was then she realised why it bothered her, why it hurt so much to think that she had lost him forever. It came down to one little word.

Hope.

Ever since he left Sunnydale years before, there had always been hope. Even with the men that came after, even with the years that passed by, even with the distance between them, there had always been hope.

Xander Harris burst through the doors of Giles' home office, waving hysterically and struggling to speak after running up the stairs, instantly breaking her from her reverie.

Buffy moved forward, grabbing one of her friend's flailing arms.

"What is it, Xander?"

Coughing hard, he pointed frantically at the television set in the corner. Buffy moved over and turned it on. The screen filled with the face of a terrified reporter. Giles' looked up from his books, distracted by the fear in the man's voice.

"It's… It's… I can't even begin to describe the scene here, Bob. It's total and utter chaos. Buildings have been set alight, some even crumbling under the sheer mass of this attack. They… they seem to be members of some bizarre gangs, with the odd make up and clothing."

Behind him, a police car went up in a ball of flames as cops ran in all directions, demons pouring throughout the street. The group stared at the television in disbelief.

"Oh my god, they're coming! They're coming this way! Oh god, nothing can stop them!"

Xander changed the channel. There was another reporter, this one dishevelled and bloody, running and screaming as the camera bobbed along. He changed the channel again. Another reporter, another scene of chaos. Xander changed the channel again and again and again. Every station was showing the war that raged in Los Angeles.

Giles swallowed hard and started polishing his glasses frantically. Willow leaned on Xander, a look of fear on her face that echoed that of the reporters. Buffy just stared open-mouthed at the television. She watched as the pretty blonde reporter tried to escape the coming hordes when a bright white light flashed across the screen and the picture cut to static.

Buffy spun around and looked her former Watcher straight in the eye, determination etched on to her face.

"We gotta get there Giles, we've got to get there _now_."

He nodded quickly as Willow joined him at the table, both working as hard and as fast as they could to get the spell ready. Xander watched them with a confused expression.

"So, we're just gonna hop the magic train all the way to LA, huh? Right into the middle of an apocalyptic battle?"

Buffy shrugged.

"That's about the gist of it. You ok?"

Xander turned off the television set and slumped into the nearest chair.

"Well, I'm a Sunnydale boy at heart. What's another apocalypse to us, huh? Another excuse to toast marshmallows over a fiery Hell pit, that's what. Just as long as I come out of it with my good eye still intact, I'll be happy."

He offered up a smile and prayed it was convincing. Buffy just laid a hand on his shoulder.

Willow stepped forward, clutching a bowl full of some kind of lilac covered powder.

"We're ready."

oooOOOooo

Spike watched as Illyria laid Wesley's body down with great care. Both the former Watcher and Gunn had been placed on an enormous pile of wood in the garden of the Hyperion Hotel after the foursome had raided the rooms for furniture. Angel had even dumped a whole filing cabinet worth of paper on to the pile. It had not escaped Spike's notice that every piece was covered in Cordelia, Fred and Wesley's handwriting.

Illyria looked confused, a shiver shooting down her spine as she backed away from the pyre. She slowly raised a leather-clad hand to her eye, dabbing at her cheek.

"The shell is leaking."

Spike folded Gunn's arms across his chest with a sigh and turned to face her.

"It's called crying, pet. Fred loved Wesley and you can remember that, you can remember how it feels to have someone that important in your life. And when you lose them, it hurts… More than any cut or bruise, it's from the inside. Knowing that you've ended the dance for good…"

Illyria let the tears slide down her cheeks as Spike moved closer. He reached out a hand to comfort her, but could only let it hover uselessly over her back. He retreated back up the steps to where Angel and Connor were waiting.

Angel held Spike's lighter in his hand, endlessly turning it over and over. Connor looked up at him, obviously concerned for his father.

"You ok?"

The vampire just stared down on the bodies of his two friends, his voice low and husky.

"It's just… Ending like this… I can't, I mean, this isn't…"

Spike glanced at Angel and felt a pang of sympathy for the big brooder. Normally, he would have cursed his soul and proceeded to make some kind of snide remark. But not tonight.

Slowly, he took the lighter out of Angel's hand and made his way back down to Illyria's side. He did not look at her as he spoke.

"I'm sorry love but I've got to…"

He felt her eyes turn on him, felt them boring through his razor-sharp cheekbones, but he still couldn't look at her. She moved away, standing near the stone bench a short distance away.

Swallowing hard, he flicked the lighter and watched the small flame for a moment. He raised his eyes to the two bodies in front of him as he took a step closer.

"Wes, Charlie boy… I hope you find your way."

Spike threw the lighter on to the pyre and watched as the gasoline-soaked wood quickly erupted in flames that swarmed over his fallen comrades. He backed away from the heat but couldn't tear his eyes away, despite the prickling of tears.

Behind him, he heard Illyria sigh. In that one breath, he could hear the pain, the confusion, the disbelief, the acceptance and the grief. And he felt it too. His bloody soul meant he felt it too.

Spike looked back over his shoulder at Angel, his face just a stage for the flames' shadows to dance across. Connor was looking up at him, his eyes moist with unshed tears. But Angel… Angel just stared straight ahead. His jaw set, his eyes blank, he just stared. Connor patted his forearm silently and moved back inside.

Spike, swallowing hard, turned on his heel and marched back up the steps. He stopped abruptly at Angel's side. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't find the words. They stood there for what seemed like hours. Spike with his mouth open, Angel with the fire reflected in his eyes. Just reflected. The real fire already seemed to have died.

Spike just sighed, and walked away from Angel. Past the fire, past the bodies, past the gate, Illyria's anguished sobbing following him all the way in to the night.


	7. New Arrivals

Buffy sat crossed legged in the middle of an enormous circle of disgusting smelling powder with Xander sitting opposite. Willow and Giles walked round the interior in concentric circles, waving sticks of even more disgusting smelling herbs. Buffy grimaced.

"Is this gonna take much longer cos I'm starting to feel queasy over here…"

Willow paused her chanting in Latin to throw Buffy a silencing look.

"Ok, non-magical person with no idea what's going on shutting up…"

A strange purple haze began to cloud the Slayer's vision as the vapours filled the room. Xander looked like he was desperately trying not to vomit.

"Woah, I know I only got the one eye these days but is it just me or is this room full of purple smoke?"

Buffy waved the lilac tendrils away from her face, trying not to cough, while Xander just stared around them wide-eyed.

"So, erm, we're about to do a spell that's going to send us flying through space to the other side of the world thanks to a mystical message from a dead man?"

Giles' shot him a withering glare and Xander raised his hands in defence.

"Yeah, sure, I'm full of confidence about this. Really! I'm confidence guy over here."

The purple haze began to swirl around the circle faster and faster. Giles and Willow held their bundles of smoking herbs above their heads, chanting louder and louder. Buffy closed her eyes to steady herself and felt Xander shuffle closer to her. Her skin began to prickle, goosebumps cascading down her arms as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

Buffy felt like her body was being pulled in a thousand directions and pushed in a million more. Opening her eyes, she caught Xander's terrified expression before he screwed his eyes shut and started mumbling to himself. Buffy swallowed hard, trying to repress her gag reflex as the four of them seemed to spin faster and faster, in time with the chanting.

There was a deafening 'pop' and Buffy was being slammed in to the ground, the others falling around her. Groaning, they each brushed themselves off and looked around, taking in the large building they had landed in. Willow frowned.

"This is…"

She trailed off, shaking her head in confusion, as someone cleared their throat loudly and purposefully behind them.

"Can I help you?"

The four turned to face the young man. Although he seemed surprisingly calm at having just watched four strangers drop out of the sky, there was a look of deep suspicion that worried Buffy. She knew this lad could be trouble if he wanted to be. And yet, there was something so familiar about him.

He folded his arms, his eyes narrowed.

"Who the hell are you lot? And what are you doing here?"

Giles took a tentative step forward.

"My name is Rupert Giles and we've just, well, _travelled_ here in an effort to fight the upcoming apocalyptic battles."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"And if you believe that…"

The young man scanned the group from beneath a deeply furrowed brow. The way he was standing, the look in his eye, Buffy couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity as the lad directed his questions to Giles.

"Are you from another dimension?"

Willow moved to Giles' side.

"No, no, we just came from Italy. We were able to do some magic to get us here quickly. We're both pretty handy with the wicca. We were worried about our friends."

The young man raised an eyebrow and pointed at the redhead.

"You're Willow, aren't you?"

She nodded, open mouthed.

"And this is the Hyperion Hotel, right? Where Angel was holed up until about a year ago. So… who are you?"

"I'm Connor. I'm Angel's son."

Giles' eyebrows shot through the roof and Buffy felt like she had just been kicked in the gut. Xander just shrugged. Willow stepped forward, looking at him with her head tilted to one side.

"I… I've met you. When you all still lived here, I remember you."

Buffy turned to her closest friend with a look of disbelief, the pain obvious in her eyes.

"You knew? You knew Angel had a son and you didn't tell me?"

Connor took a step forward and sighed heavily.

"What's your name?"

"Buffy, Buffy Summers."

He looked surprised for a second.

"The Slayer, yeah? The one that died but got brought back? That seems to be a bit of trend round here."

She just stared at him, and his cheeks began to flush.

"Yeah, ok, well when Angel went to work for Wolfram and Hart, they did some magic on everyone's memories. I was raised with a whole other family way out of town. I had a whole other group of friends, whole other interests. At least until I got rundown by a car and absolutely nothing happened to me. Not a scratch. My parents brought me here to figure out what was wrong with me and I ended up meeting Angel. When the spell was broken, it all came back to me. That whole other life. Living here, Quortoth, the things I did, Cordelia…"

The boy looked utterly heart broken for a moment before he swallowed hard and continued.

"Think about it Buffy, you already knew."

She opened her mouth to argue with him but she knew he was right. She slumped on to the circular sofa in the middle of the lobby feeling lost and confused. Willow sat down beside her, a reassuring hand squeezing her knee. The wicca looked up at the boy.

"So how'd you end up here again? I mean, the news said that there was a huge battle going on. We came to help."

Connor shrugged and sat on the counter in front of them.

"When Angel suddenly appeared at the coffee shop… Well, he's not exactly a bright sunny daytime kind of guy, right? I knew something was up. I went back to Wolfram and Hart, and it was totally empty. I got upstairs to where Angel's office was and he was fighting this big dude. They were really going at it, you know? So, I tried to help, but I got knocked out for my troubles. When I came to, Angel was ok and the big guy was dead. He sent me away, told me to get the hell out of dodge, and I planned to. But, I couldn't. I went back. All that fighting, I couldn't just leave him."

He looked up at Willow, almost like he was seeking her reassurance that he had done the right thing. She just smiled and he smiled back shyly.

"Anyway, Cordelia ended it. Big bright white light, all the baddies just disappeared. And I came back."

Giles frowned.

"Came back from where?"

Connor paused, obviously thinking.

"I don't know. I was dead and then I wasn't. Weird…"

Xander took a step forward, an incredulous look on his face.

"Hang on, I'ml stuck on the whole 'Cordelia ended it' part. I mean, I don't want to sound cruel here or anything but Cordelia died right?"

Connor shrugged.

"As far as I know, yeah. You'd have to ask Angel about it, I wasn't around. But she's some kind of higher being now. The Powers That Be recruited her I guess."

Xander looked around the group open mouthed.

"Is anyone else scared that Cordelia is a higher being? I mean, _Cordelia?_ She's the best they can do?"

He looked at Buffy for some form of support but there was nothing she could say. Her mind was elsewhere. Connor was right, she had known about him. She'd been forced to forget and now she just felt… Cheated. She felt cheated. The hope was starting to slip away again.

Buffy turned her eyes to Angel's son.

"How is everyone else?"

Connor cleared his throat and stared at his feet, his voice suddenly quiet.

"Wesley was killed. And Gunn. My dad's out the back right now."

_His dad_. Buffy felt like she'd been winded again. Angel really had a son. He called him dad. She got to her feet.

"Out the back?"

He jerked a thumb towards the doors to the garden. Staring, Buffy could see that all too familiar silhouette ahead of her lit by some kind of bonfire. She turned to Connor, pointing towards the flames.

"That's them, isn't it? The fire? That smell…"

He nodded silently, unable to look at her. She turned slowly and made her way outside, standing next to the love of her life.

Buffy knew that he knew she was there. Both of them always did. Not that he made any effort to register her presence. She followed his gaze down to the pyre, the flames licking the edges of the shadows. She felt his grief. Even though she had not met Gunn, she had heard a lot about him from the others. Angel always spoke highly of him whenever they talked. And Wesley…

She knew that he had changed a lot since hooking up with Angel in LA. He was not the Watcher she had loathed and laughed at when they first met. He had grown up and fought as hard and as passionately as the best Champions she had ever seen. She mourned his passing.

She wanted to tell him how she felt and she wanted him to do the same. All she wanted to do, all she'd _ever_ wanted to do, was to have him turn those deep dark eyes on her and bear his soul. Buffy wanted him to tell her how he was feeling so she could help him, so she could tell him how much she still loved him.

Buffy knew that it was never going to happen so she resisted, instead choosing to just stand beside him and watch the flames. Minutes passed and, without turning her eyes away from the pyre, Buffy slowly reached out to Angel and grasped his hand. She squeezed it reassuringly but he made no indication that he had even noticed.

They stood there in silence, the minutes ticking by, until Buffy decided she should just leave him to his grief. Suddenly, just as she was about to withdraw, he squeezed her hand back, rearranging their grip so their fingers were intertwined.

She looked up at him and a few moments later he turned to look back down at her. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. She offered him a supportive smile and he responded with a slight nod before turning back to watch the fire. She stared at his profile, wanting nothing more than to pull him towards her and tell him just how much he meant to her.

Instead, Buffy turned back to face the flames, resting her head on his shoulder and feeling him gently kissing her crown. Despite the grief, she felt a new sensation rising within her.

She had hope.


	8. Realisations & Introductions

The scent of sunrise forced Spike to turn back toward the hotel. He had to admit, he quite liked the place. It had character. That said, it was probably going to be the first place the Senior Partners would come looking for them to wreak their revenge.

Spike lit a cigarette as he stomped through the streets, his coat billowing behind him. He looked around as he walked. The empty roads made LA look like a ghost town. The residents and the things that preyed on them in the night all seemed to be steering well clear.

Spike took a long drag as he cast a careful eye through the dark. A lot of people were probably dead and those that weren't had hopefully done the right thing and scarpered.

He turned down the alley that led up to the back gates of the Hyperion. He could smell the burning pyre and he paused. That was Gunn and Wesley…

Spike cursed the Powers That Be, he cursed his soul, he cursed the Senior Partners. He should have died in that battle. Just like he should have died in Sunnydale. Well, he should have stayed dead. That damn prophecy had given him hope and a reason to keep fighting, all the more important since he'd lost Buffy.

He leaned against the wall with an exhausted sigh. Spike knew he could curse the prophecies and the sacrifices till the world ended but it wouldn't make a difference. None of it ever seemed to make a difference.

He had helped Angel to destroy the Circle of the Black Thorn, he helped to force a conflict with the Senior Partners, and what had come of it? Wesley and Gunn had paid the price of it and he seriously doubted that their battle had even scratched the surface of the Senior Partners' power.

Spike threw the cigarette to the ground and marched down the alleyway, determined that whatever was coming, he would fight it. After all, he was a white hat these days, just like the big dark broodster himself.

He stopped with one hand on the gates, staring at the fire and sighing heavily. Gazing through the flames, Spike could see Illyria's blue hue hunched over on the bench in front of the pyre. He couldn't hear her crying anymore but that didn't mean the pain was any less.

Movement caught his eye and he looked up to the terrace. His heart skipped a beat. Well, it would have if he was alive. There was Buffy, the love of his eternal life.

Spike blinked rapidly, making sure that what he was seeing through the smoke and the prickling of tears was right. There was Buffy. And she was staring up all lovey-dovey at him, at Angel. Always bloody Angel.

He swallowed hard, cursing the soul that made him care so much about someone who obviously didn't care about him. Spike nodded to himself and disappeared back in to the shadows.

oooOOOooo

Giles, Xander and Connor milled around the hotel lobby, the former Sunnydale residents staring around them and examining what the place might look like under the layers of dust and grime. Connor was absorbed in his own memories so Willow had explained to them how wonderful the place had looked years before, but now she just stood watching Buffy and Angel.

Xander turned to Connor.

"So… Cordelia really saved you then?"

Connor raised an eyebrow at the one-eyed man's incredulous tone.

"Yeah. You know, that's the whole point of the higher power gig I guess."

Giles polished his glasses, deep in thought.

"Well, at least it's good to know we have her on our side when the next apocalypse arrives."

Connor took a sudden interest in his shoes, his cheeks flushing. Giles stood, his gaze inquisitive.

"Is there a problem?"

The young man raised his eyes to the Englishman but quickly averted his gaze, looking anywhere but at him.

"Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, Cordelia, she said that she wouldn't necessarily be around for the next one. You know, the real one. The big one."

"Ah, well, considering the scale of the last attack, that might well become a slight problem, yes."

Willow turned back to the group.

"Giles, seriously, how many apocalypses have we faced over the years? We'll be fine."

She beamed a confident smile at him and he felt slightly reassured. He replaced his glasses and straightened up.

"Right, well, let's get started."

Xander spun on his heel with an odd look on his face.

"You mean we've come all this way just to do research and read a load of dusty old books?"

Willow bounded over to them.

"Oooh, reading and research? It's just like old times! So what's first?"

Giles smiled and started pacing up and down across the lobby.

"Well, this previous battle will hopefully have depleted the 'troops' so to speak, especially with Cordelia's intervention. And after all, if this coming apocalypse really was scheduled by the Senior Partners, then there will be some evidence somewhere, some form of documentation."

Xander perked up.

"Like a timetable or something?"

Willow grinned and turned to Connor.

"Any books around?"

He shrugged.

"There used to be loads in the office over there but this place has been empty for so long, I don't know if there's much left. I mean, Wolfram and Hart had basically everything they'd ever need so there might be some books still around."

Giles and Willow immediately disappeared in to the office. Connor watched them go with an odd expression. Xander paused, feeling an odd sense of concern.

"You ok?"

Connor nodded and slumped on to the circular sofa. Xander buried his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"So, just you and Angel here then?"

The young lad shook his head.

"There's Illyria. She used to be Fred, but now she's been replaced by some God or something and Fred's gone."

Xander rolled his eyes.

"I've had a little experience of _gods_. That's when Buffy, you know, when she…"

He trailed off, his gaze drawn to the terrace outside and the two silhouettes on the other side of the door. Connor finished his sentence for him.

"When she died, right? That had to be tough."

Xander just nodded and Connor rolled his eyes.

"Oh, and then there's Spike too. He's around here somewhere."

Xander's head shot up.

"Spike? Spike is here? _Spike_!"

"Hello to you too Xander boy."

The pair spun round to find Spike standing in the doorway. He stomped down the steps towards them with a shrug, attempting to feign surprise at seeing them.

"Well, ain't this just a jolly old reunion? Good to see Sunnydale's finest finally making an appearance."

Xander glowered at him as Spike sauntered across the lobby, pausing when he saw Giles in the office. He moved over to the door. Giles was scanning books on the desk while Willow was sat cross legged on the floor. The room was in total disarray. Spike cleared his throat and Giles did a double take.

"Spike?"

"One and the same."

"Jonathan told me you were back. It's… Well, it's a surprise."

"For you and me both mate. I just wanted to warn you two that you probably shouldn't be spotted by Angel in here. This used to be Wesley's stomping ground."

Willow's face dropped and Giles looked distinctly uncomfortable. Spike shrugged and sauntered back out of the office, leaving the pair to gather up what they could quickly and follow him back in to the lobby.

Willow dropped a pile of books at Xander's feet. He looked up at her with a resigned sigh.

"How come Buffy doesn't have to do this?"

Willow passed Connor a thick dusty volume with a slight smile, before turning back to her old friend.

"Because Buffy is a highly tuned demon killing machine, kind of like a cruise missile, and we're the ones who have to figure out where to point her. Not that she can actually fly like a missile though."

Xander sat down and flicked open one of the books.

"No, cos then she'd need tights and a cape like a real superhero. Oohh, can we get her to do that?"

Connor looked from one to the other with a look of sheer disbelief.

"How the hell have _you_ guys ever saved the world?"


	9. Memories & Revelations

Angel pulled away from Buffy and moved down the steps to the bench where Illyria sat hunched over.

"You ok?"

She looked up at him, her eyes swimming in tears.

"I do not wish to discuss these feelings. Nor can I watch his shell burn for another moment. I wish to be alone."

Illyria stood and marched back in to the hotel, nearly knocking over Buffy on the way. The Slayer bit her tongue to stop herself from making a snide remark and moved to Angel's side on the bench. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, watching the flames die down.

Buffy reached for his hand, enjoying the familiarity of his touch.

"I'm so sorry, Angel. I know how much Wesley meant to you."

He pulled his hand away quickly and stood up. She made no move to follow him as he spoke quietly.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But you should. You need to. I mean, this must be so hard for you. You've lost Wesley and Gunn. Not to mention the fact that Cordelia died not so long ago. But Angel, you have to remember that none of this is your fault."

He span around to face her, fire in his eyes as he yelled.

"It _was_ my fault Buffy! How can you not see that?"

She stood to face him, laying a gentle hand on his forearm.

"Don't be stupid, Angel. I know you're in pain right now, you're grieving, but you can't blame this on yourself. _You_ didn't kill them."

He angrily shook her off.

"Yes I did! In the end, it was me, I did it. I picked this fight, I sent them to those places, I signed their death warrants. This was all my fault. I might as well have done it with my own hands. And damn it, you've got me talking about this!"

Angel turned away from her and she stared at his back as she spoke.

"Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you let me know what was going on?"

His voice was distant when he replied.

"There was nothing you could have done."

Buffy threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Hello, have we met? I'm the Chosen One. Actually, let me rephrase that. I'm One of the Chosen Many. I could have rounded up a whole army of Slayers and you knew that!"

Angel just shook his head, his back still turned against her.

"This wasn't your fight, Buffy, just like the battle against the First wasn't mine."

She stared open-mouthed at the back of his head, the realisation dawning on her.

"You never thought any of you would actually get through this, did you?"

When he made no effort to answer her question, Buffy felt the anger rising within her and grabbed his arm hard, spinning him round to face her.

"Are you a total idiot? What the hell were you playing at? You're supposed to be a Champion, Angel, you're meant to be protecting the innocent and all that Captain America stuff, not picking excuses to go on a kamikaze mission. The world needs you."

It was Angel's turn to get angry.

"That may have been true once, Buffy, but not anymore. You're just pissed that I didn't immediately come running to you for help. No one needs me and I sure as hell don't need you."

Buffy smarted at his words but kept her composure.

"Well, that's funny because I'm here aren't I? We've come all this way because we care, because we wanted to help you. Not to mention that you've got a son waiting for you back inside. Ever thought he might need a father?"

"He's already got one and it's not me. This is no life to offer him."

Angel sunk back on to the bench, his shoulders slumped over as he stared at the ground. Buffy sat down beside him, letting him talk.

"He has a wonderful family who love and care for him. They can give him the life I can't, the life he deserves. I have to accept that. No matter how much it hurts me to do it, I have to let him go. Just like I let you go."

Buffy reached out and clutched his hand. This time he didn't shake her off.

"Well, Connor doesn't seem to be going anywhere right now. And neither do I."

oooOOOooo

The group had watched open-mouthed as the strange blue woman had marched in from the garden and straight up the stairs. Willow had shuddered. It was hard for her to see someone else using Fred's body, especially as this so-called God had killed her to do it.

Spike, however, felt a strange affinity for her. Watching her disappearing upstairs obviously upset, he wanted to help. If anything, it would get him away from the shadows of Buffy and Angel on the other side of the door he couldn't help staring at.

Venturing upstairs, Spike checked each room for Illyria. Everywhere was deserted and in disarray. Eventually he found her stood in one of the rooms that looked just like every other. A few old magazines and newspapers littered across the floor were the only indications that anyone had been there in years.

Illyria turned to face him but said nothing. Spike swallowed hard and took a step forward.

"Are you alright, pet?"

She turned away again, marching over to the far wall. She stared at it for a moment in total silence and then started scratching at it, picking off the peeling bits of paint.

Concerned, Spike took another step forward.

"Are you sure you should really be doing that?"

Her response was to simply speed up her efforts. He moved forward again as she became increasingly frantic.

"Seriously love, you just got through an apocalyptic battle basically unharmed. It'd be a shame to mess those pretty blue fingers of yours up now, wouldn't it?"

Still she didn't stop so Spike grabbed her arm, pulling her away and sending flecks of white paint flying. Something behind her caught his eye.

"What the…"

Still half obscured under layers of paint was a childlike drawing of two stick figures on what Spike assumed was a horse. He turned his gaze back on to Illyria.

"How did you know that was there?"

Her eyes were welling up as she spoke.

"The memories brought me here. The shell drew this pictogram, just as she put her pen to all of these walls. This was her cave."

"Sweetheart, I admit this place isn't The Ritz but I'd hardly call it a -"

A fist connected with his jaw, sending him flying to the ground. Spitting blood on to the carpet, he glared up at her.

"What the bleeding hell was that for?"

"We have fought on many an occasion. I wish to rid myself of these feelings. I wish to do more violence."

Spike jumped to his feet, his hands raised in surrender.

"You and me both, love."

Illyria took a step toward him, her fist raised, and he scuttled backward.

"But not here, not now and sure as hell not with me. Another battle is coming. The guy that killed Wesley? His bosses will be leading the charge. You can get your revenge."

Illyria stood perfectly still, her fist still cocked. Slowly, she lowered her arm.

"I will bring them to their knees. You will assist."

She marched out of the room and Spike followed, a grin spreading across his lips.

"Oh I do love a girl that knows what she wants."


	10. The Lost Prophecy

Spike followed Illyria downstairs to the lobby. Willow stepped forward, a strained look on her face as she eyed the bizarre creature in front of her, staring back at her with a dead woman's eyes.

"You're Illyria, right?"

"You knew Winifred Burkle. You look at me like I am her."

Willow opened her mouth to say something but no words would come. She liked Fred, she'd felt a bond with the kindly Texan, so to see the strange thing that now stood in front of her left her feeling hurt. Willow sighed heavily and turned away. Illyria continued to stare at her.

The door to the garden area opened as Buffy and Angel walked in holding hands. Seeing Spike, Buffy immediately let go and moved away. Angel turned to look at her, his gaze questioning, but before he could ask what was wrong, Illyria was in his face.

"You must make it happen."

Angel blinked and shook his head.

"Make what happen?"

"The apocalypse. I wish to fight now."

Giles moved towards them, Connor and Xander watching from the sofa.

"I'm afraid we can not just will an apocalypse in to existence. Which is just as well when you think about it."

Illyria turned on the Englishman.

"Angel forced the Senior Partners to fight and he must do it again. When I was a god, I would have torn them from all existence and now I am forced to wait inside the confines of this frail mortal shell and the rules of these lower forms and I can not wait. I will not let his death go without vengeance."

Angel laid a gentle hand on her shoulder but she batted it away.

"They _will_ come after us, Illyria. They won't let us get away with what we've done. And only then, only when they start the battle, will we fight. We can't go charging in again. Wesley's gone and you're grieving. It gets easier, Illyira, we just have to wait."

She turned away, battling tears as she caught Willow's eye. The young witch saw the pain and confusion there and moved to her side, throwing a tentative arm around her shoulders. She still could not stand to look her in the eye though.

Giles moved forward, offering a book to Angel.

"I don't think we're going to have to wait all that long."

Angel took the book and read the passage out loud.

"_And lo, it shall begin._"

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"And lo? Why is it always _and lo_? Get a damn dictionary."

Angel cleared his throat and continued.

_"The gates of Hell shall open,_

_The demon hordes shall rise._

_The Champions will battle,_

_Two will lose their lives._

_The Higher Powers cometh_

_To turn the horde ablaze,_

_To half the final numbers_

_That will see the End of Days._

_The ground below shall tremble,_

_Both moon and sun will glow,_

_God's cry been silenced,_

_Rivers of blood will flow._

_Trusted friends assembled,_

_To answer to the call._

_The curséd one shall stand there_

_But so shall he fall._"

Angel thrust the book back at Giles, his eyes full of rage.

"This was always planned? How could the Senior Partners have not known about it? Why would they hire us, why would they let me destroy the Circle of the Black Thorn, why would so many people have to die if they already knew?"

Confused, angry and grieving, he put his fist through the wall. Buffy took a step toward Angel, wanting to comfort him, but feeling Spike's eyes on her back she could only offer up an awkward pat on the back. Giles flicked through the pages of the book.

"They didn't know, Angel. This volume isn't exactly available in their usual sources of research."

He turned to the title page of the book and passed it back to Angel who stared at it in disbelief.

"This is Wes's diary? But that's not his handwriting. Plus, it's a prophecy, how would he know all about what was going to happen?"

Giles cleared his throat and cleaned his glasses as Angel flicked through the pages.

"To be honest, I don't know. As I understand it, Cordelia has become something of a higher being so there is a possibility that she was involved. Astral possession means the host would take the aspects of the possessor, so the handwriting would change. However, I doubt it was Wesley that she possessed as the writing wouldn't change that much. Plus, would he really have this happen and tell no one about it? The important thing, however, is that we have been given portents to when this End of Days will come. I think it's time we assemble an army of our own."

Buffy nodded as she stepped forward, avoiding looking at either Angel or Spike.

"I think you're right. We've got to get the Slayers here. I'd better call Faith too."

Willow joined the group, slightly relieved to be able to move away from Illyria.

"I'm gonna call Oz. He'd want to know about all this. Plus, a werewolf might come in handy."

Angel's head snapped up.

"Nina…"

He practically ran upstairs, pulling a cell phone from inside his jacket as he went. Buffy watched him go with a frown as Willow looked at Spike, confused.

"What'd I say?"

The other vampire shook his head.

"His girlfriend's a werewolf."

He felt Buffy's gaze snap on to him and it took all his strength not to look at her as he carried on talking to Willow.

"Her name's Nina. The big brooding lump sent her away before all this kicked off. Guess it's time to call her home and have another big sloppy reunion."

Spike couldn't hide the bitterness in his voice but still did not look at Buffy. Willow took a step toward her best friend, her hand outstretched.

"Buffy?"

She yanked a cell phone from the back pocket of her jeans, avoiding her friend's eyes as she mumbled something about Faith and marched off towards the office. Spike watched her go, cursing himself for upsetting her. He grabbed the book out of Giles' hands who, as usual, was oblivious to what had just happened.

"Let me see that…"

Spike scanned the pages without really reading anything. Suddenly, he realised there was something familiar about the diary.

"Wait a minute, I know this writing."

He marched away, Giles following close behind. They stopped in front of Illyria and Spike thrust the book at her.

"Where did you get Wesley's diary from?"

Giles arched an eyebrow as Illyria took the volume, tears welling up in her eyes again as she traced his name with her fingers.

"It was one of the personal objects he carried with him to the mansion where he died."

The former Watcher stepped forward, drawing her gaze.

"So why did you write what you did?"

Her voice was flat as she answered.

"I did not."

Spike jabbed a finger at the text in her hands, his anger at everything that happened now being directed at the woman in front of him.

"Are you trying to tell me that's _not_ your handwriting?"

She looked back down at the book.

"That is the form my hand takes but I have no memory of creating those words."

Spike rolled his eyes and threw his hands into the air in frustration so Giles took over.

"Illyria, tell me what happened right before you found the diary."

She stared off in to the distance as she remembered seeing Wesley's broken body again. She blinked back tears as she explained.

"I returned to the mansion as the higher being instructed. I was to bring his shell back here. The room was cold and I did not like the feelings it created within my own shell. Wesley's bag was by the table he had sat at. He was still there. I felt him. I took the bag with his belongings and I took him, bringing them all back here. I do not recall creating words."

Giles's brow was furrowed as he thought.

"You say you felt that he was still there? That he was still in the room with you, his spirit?"

Illyria stiffened.

"You are a lower being. I do not expect your feeble mind to comprehend what it is I speak of."

Giles turned to Spike, attempting to ignore the insult about his intellect, which he personally considered to be nowhere near feeble.

"It was Wesley who appeared in Buffy's dream that told us to come here. He showed her the fight that was happening in the alleyway, the impossible odds that you four were up against. And it was Wesley that told me how to conduct the magic to actually bring us here. Perhaps it was indeed Wesley that helped Illyria to reveal this prophecy."

Spike snorted with derision.

"I'm sorry mate but are you seriously trying to tell me that the ghost of your old Watcher buddy is attempting to tell us what's going to happen?"

Giles folded his arms, almost glaring at him through his glasses.

"Cordelia is a higher power who helped to save your life just an hour or so ago. Stranger things than Wesley helping us have indeed happened."

Spike shook his head and slunk away, dropping himself on to the sofa beside Connor. The young man handed him a book without looking up from his own.

"Might as well make yourself useful instead of just sulking."

Spike snatched the book away with a glare and attempted to read. It was useless as his gaze was constantly drawn back to Buffy pacing up and down in the office. He had died for her and here she was again without a single word to say to him.

Buffy collapsed in to a chair and Spike stood, prepared to face the Slayer but Willow beat him to it, entering the office and shutting the door behind her. Spike sunk back down to his seat to be greeted by an amused look from Connor.

"You've got it bad for the blonde, huh?"

Spike glared at him as he re-opened the old book, getting a face full of dust for his troubles.

"And are you trying to tell me you ain't been throwing sneaky peeks at Red?"

Connor blushed heavily and looked away. Spike grinned.

"Bad luck, mate. You're really not her type."

Connor returned the grin, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Doesn't seem like you're Buffy's type either."

Both men threw each other glares and returned to their books.


	11. Can't Seem To Care

Willow sat herself on the edge of the desk and looked down at Buffy. The girl was in a world of her own.

"Buffy?"

She sighed and tried again.

"Buffy!"

The Slayer almost jumped out of her chair. Relaxing as she realised it was just Willow, she put a hand to her rapidly beating heart and leaned back again. Willow frowned.

"Are you ok? You seemed like you were miles away."

Buffy smiled distractedly.

"I kinda wish I was. Instead, I'm just sat in here, full of the deep and meaningfuls. All this… It's just so confusing."

Willow crossed her legs and rested her chin in her hands, waiting for her friend to continue. After a few moments silence, she dutifully did.

"It was just that when Lorne said it was too late and I thought I'd lost Angel for good, it killed me. It was like my whole world had come crashing down. Losing Spike was never like that but I loved him too, just not in the same way. Now they're both right in front of me, and I have a boyfriend who I haven't even told I'm here, and Angel has a girlfriend and I'm just so confused! Will, what do I do?"

Willow shrugged.

"It depends what you want. I mean, as much as I want my vicarious smoochies, you need to be sure who you want to be all smoochy with. Being with Angel would make him go all grrr again, but I know you still love him. He was your _big_ love, Buffy, and your first. You two will always have that connection holding you together. With Spike, well, I honestly have no idea what all that was about. And now… Well, are you happy with The Immortal?"

Willow cringed. She hated that name and she didn't particularly like him either. Pompous didn't even begin to cover it as far as she was concerned. Buffy looked up at her with an understanding smile.

"I know you're not exactly Immy's biggest fan Will, but we have fun and he makes me laugh. I never got much of the funny with Angel. I mean, we got together and it ended up with him trying to kill all my friends and family, and me sending him to Hell. Hardly the basis for a great relationship."

At the memory, Buffy drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms tight around herself.

"But I loved him so much and you're right, that never leaves you. He was right to leave though. How could we ever have a future together? He'd just stay the same while I'd grow old and wrinkly and I'd end up hating him for it. Plus we could never… You know…."

She looked away shyly as she sighed.

"Even after all that though, I always hoped… God, I don't know what I hoped for but it was something with _him_. I don't know what or why but it's not like it matters anymore. He's found someone else now, someone he seems to love."

Willow smiled at her best friend.

"Just like you have."

Buffy averted her gaze and Willow raised an eyebrow.

"You don't love him, do you?"

The Slayer shrugged guiltily.

"It's not like I don't care about him at all, it's just that I'm not _there_ yet."

"Will you ever be?"

"I don't know. He's gotten so smothering recently, plus there's the whole immortality problem again. Not to mention the name. I really doubt I ever will, at least not with him. And it's not like you can force it. I tried to with Spike and he knew it wasn't real. That's not fair on anyone."

Willow glanced at the vampire through the glass, catching his eye, though he quickly looked away.

"Have you actually spoken to Spike yet?"

Buffy followed Willow's gaze and glanced over her shoulder.

"And what would I say? Sorry I left you down in the Hellmouth to die a painful death all on your lonesome but I didn't want to die and I didn't love you but good to see you're back, although I've no idea why that is or what I feel about it…"

Willow took her hand and squeezed it slightly.

"I know all this is hard and confusing but you really should talk to him."

Buffy snorted with laughter.

"Which one?"

"All of them. You've got to figure out what you want."

Buffy leaned back in the chair again, folding her arms with a childish pout.

"I know what I want and that's a quiet, easy life. Think you could magic one up for me?"

It was Willow's turn to snort with laughter as she returned to her books.

"Join the queue."

oooOOOooo

Angel leant against the wall, the cell phone ringing in his ear, as he prayed Nina would pick up. Eventually, that familiar voice sounded.

"Hello?"

The smile erupted across his face and he knew she could hear it all those miles away.

"Nina? It's me, it's Angel."

He heard her relief in the sudden burst of laughter.

"Oh thank god, you're ok! I was so worried. We saw all that fighting on tv. It wasn't gangs was it? That was demons and everything, that was why you sent me away wasn't it?"

He sighed, again remembering everything that had happened.

"Yeah, yeah that was why. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. I just couldn't risk anything happening to you because of what I was doing. I needed to know you were safe."

He could hear the smile on her face and it kept his own glowing.

"And now? Is it safe to come home yet?"

"I'm sorry Nina, not yet. It's not over."

She sighed loudly and he swore he could hear her roll her eyes.

"It's never is."

She paused and he could feel the weight of the next question before it even left her lips.

"Is everyone else ok? How's Wesley doing? And Gunn?"

He slid down the wall, sinking to the ground as he felt their loss all over again.

"Oh God, Angel, what happened?"

"They… They're both…"

Angel felt the tears rise again and this time he couldn't stop it. Sobbing hard, he heard Nina's soothing voice at the other end telling him he'd be ok, that he'd get through it. He almost believed her.

He gathered himself together and swallowed back the tears.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Oh baby, there's no need to say that to me or anyone. They did what they had to do, same as you. I love you and I just wish I could be there for you."

He wiped his sleeve across his eyes.

"Don't take this the wrong way but I'm glad you're not here. This way I know you're safe."

He wanted to tell her that he loved her too but the words stuck in his throat. He closed his eyes and all he could see was Buffy. He realised Nina was still talking.

"…just glad you're ok and you're safe, that you got through it. Just promise me I can come home to you soon."

He forced a smile on to his lips, purely for her benefit.

"You'll be the first to know as soon as it's all done."

There was a pause at the other end and he knew she was considering telling him to walk away, to not put himself in danger again.

"I love you, Angel."

He swallowed hard, his head in his hands.

"I… I'll call you soon."

He could feel the hurt and disappointment when he didn't return the sentiment.

"Look, Nina, I'm sorry but - "

She cut him off, her voice quiet.

"I understand Angel and it's ok. It's really ok. Just keep yourself safe, even if it's not for me."

The line went dead and all he could do was stare at the cell phone in his hands as the guilt overwhelmed him.

Angel sighed as he got to his feet, shoving the phone back in to the pocket of his jacket as he walked back down the corridor. Standing at the top of the stairs, he looked down at the group milling around the lobby from the shadows.

Giles seemed to be quizzing Illyria about something, Xander was lying face down on the counter flicking through a book the size of a house, Spike and Connor were talking on the sofa, and through the office window he could see Buffy and Willow laughing together.

Angel felt his mind wander back to what Cordelia had said to him in the alley.

_"I moved on, Angel, and now you need to as well. Properly. Not like what you were doing with Nina. You might have burnt some bridges in the past but it doesn't kill the love. It never dies. When you see her again, you'll know that. So tell her."_

Cordelia had known he didn't really love Nina. That all he wanted was Buffy, always Buffy.

He turned away from the lobby, so deep in thought that he just letting his feet guide him. All those years without Buffy, he started to…

To what, he chastised himself, to forget?

He could never forget but he _had_ moved on. He had loved Cordelia but that was over before it had even begun. There'd been that whole mess with Darla but at least it had given him Connor. And now he had Nina. She was beautiful, she was sweet, kind, caring and a werewolf, which meant she understood better than anyone the struggle he faced being a vampire with a soul in this world.

But he didn't love her, not really, not the way she wanted him to. After all, he had never achieved that one moment of happiness with her and he knew he wouldn't before he was even put in that situation. He could never love anyone the way he loved Buffy, the woman he could never really have. There was no future with her.

But all the time they had been apart, he had always hoped that maybe one day… The prophecy about the whole shanshu thing had only served to crystallize that feeling. The knowledge that one day he might become human again, that he could be with Buffy, it had spurred him on and made his fight for redemption all the more bearable.

But the Senior Partners had forced him to sign that future away. He had lost that chance, just like he lost Buffy.

Angel stopped suddenly, realising where he was. His old room.

He pushed the door open and was forced to stop by the memories that came crashing down on him.

Lorne singing, Fred's big brain theories, Kate threatening him, Gunn's fighting talk, Connor's crib, Wesley's translations of ancient languages, Darla, lying on the bed with Cordelia discussing his son's future… So many things had happened in this room with so many people that he had loved and lost.

Angel slumped on to the bed, ignoring the cloud of dust that billowed up around him. And as the whole room began to shake and the ceiling came crashing down, he could barely find the strength to care.


	12. The First Portent

Illyria stood in the middle of the lobby, her eyes roaming around. Her head cocked to one side, she looked at Xander.

"What is that sensation?"

Xander looked up from his book, utterly confused.

"Huh?"

She was waving her hand through the air, almost as if she was trying to grab something invisible. Xander hopped off the counter and walked towards her, a quizzical look on his face.

"Seriously, what on earth are you doing?"

Almost on queue, a distant rumbling seemed to erupt from within the very walls. The earthquake took everyone by surprise. As Buffy and Willow immediately darted in to the nearest doorframe like the hardened California girls they were, Illyria simply looked around the hotel as huge pieces of masonry fell around her.

Xander and Giles raced in to the doorway between the main office and the staff space behind the counter, while Connor grabbed Illyria just in time to yank her away from where an enormous chunk of ceiling was about to land.

Lying on top of him, Illyria gave him a confused but thankful smile. Connor blushed profusely as he scrambled from underneath her. Embarrassed, he led Illyria back to the others. Spike was nowhere to be seen.

Eventually, the quake subsided and the gang ventured out, checking each other over. They cast each other relieved glances, moving together as if reassuring themselves that they really were alive.

Giles surveyed the rubble around them and the enormous cracks that had snaked their way through the walls. He sighed heavily, cleaning the dust off his glasses as he shook his head.

Xander walked up behind him, patting the former Watcher's shoulder with an impish grin.

"Times like this, I bet you wished you'd stayed in good old damp and dingy Blighty."

Giles replaced his glasses and gave Xander a withering look.

"Indeed… Nevertheless, I think we just received our first portent."

Buffy was frantically looking around them.

"Where's Spike? And Angel? He went upstairs but… Is there even an upstairs anymore?"

Her voice was shaking as Connor was brushing himself off, but as soon as he heard his father's name, he immediately raced upstairs. Buffy stared after him, silently wishing that she was the one who had gone but dutifully ventured outside to look for Spike.

As soon as she went in to the garden she found he was pretty easy to spot, his bleached blonde hair acting like a beacon in the shadows on the terrace. Buffy took a deep breath and stepped toward him.

"Spike? I was just checking you were ok what with the earthquake and all."

His voice was quiet, almost strained.

"I'm fine."

She wanted to turn around and go back inside but she forced herself to move towards him.

"Look, Spike, maybe we should talk."

He turned to face her. She raised her eyes to his and gasped. An enormous gash sliced across his right temple, blood spilling in to his eye. Buffy rushed forward, her hand reaching up to his wound. He took a step back and she paused, her hand hovering in mid air.

"Spike, please. Just let me check you out."

He stared at her for a moment and she was unable to read him at all. Eventually, he sighed and moved forward again. Buffy reached up to his forehead, standing on her tip toes as he bent his head slightly to let her examine him. Tentatively, she wiped the blood away from his eye, her face full of concern.

"Does it hurt?"

He swallowed hard, his stomach doing somersaults.

"Not anymore, love."

Their eyes locked and Buffy felt her heart pound. Her hand slid down his temple, tracing the angular cut of his cheekbones and stopping at his chest, her hand resting where his heart should have been thumping. He moved closer, his arms snaking around her waist as he leaned in. Buffy felt the anticipation, the excitement, the tingling, and she leant in too.

Suddenly, she stopped, pushing Spike away. For a moment, he looked at her surprised, but his features quickly changed to confusion and hurt. Buffy took a step backwards as she tried to gather herself.

"Spike…"

He shrugged, lighting a cigarette as he leaned on the railings. To anyone else, he wouldn't have looked at all bothered but Buffy could see the anger flash in his eyes.

"Don't bother, blondie, I get it."

She sighed, running a nervous hand through her dust-clogged hair.

"Really? Then do you mind explaining it to me because I'm still a little lost here."

She had aimed for funny but the look Spike shot her made it clear that she'd missed by miles. She moved to be closer to him while still retaining a fair distance.

"Why didn't you ever call me? When you came back, I mean. Why didn't you tell me?"

Spike laughed bitterly.

"Not really the kind of conversation I was jonesing for, pet. It was just easier…"

Buffy felt the anger and frustration at everything that had been happening rise up and she couldn't help but snap at him.

"Easier to what? Leave me thinking you were dead? Having _Jonathan_ be the one to tell me you were back from the dead and sneaking around Rome? And with Angel, for god's sake? The two men in all my life who claimed to love me no matter what, keeping this enormous secret from me. How do you think that made me feel, huh?"

Spike turned on her, their anger practically causing sparks in the shadows.

"How it made _you_ feel? I'm sorry for the news flash sweetheart, but the world doesn't revolve around you. I died for you, yeah, and that was probably the dumbest thing I ever did. Except for that long weekend with the slime demon…"

He shook his head, putting himself back on course as he jabbed a finger in her face.

"Look, I wasn't brought back because of anything to do with you. I wasn't around you and I didn't want to be. I was here and helping your brooding lump of an ex fight the Senior Partners while you were shaking your stuff around the bars of Rome with your latest immortal squeeze. You got a real thing for the undead, don't you love? Which is real funny when you think about it cos the undead seem to be losing their taste for you. I don't want you, Angel's got himself a real animal for a girlfriend, not to mention a son, and where exactly is your darling other half anyway? Huh?"

Despite her anger, Buffy couldn't keep the hurt from her face. Spike's scowl seemed to soften a little and he turned away, the long drag he took from his cigarette sending shadows dancing across his features.

"I never thought that you coming back had anything to do with me, Spike. I just wish you'd told me."

Her voice was quiet, almost resigned. He glanced at her, uncertain what to say and worried that he'd upset her. That was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

As Buffy looked on, Spike's shoulders slumped and he almost seemed to deflate in front of her. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"You want the truth, pet? I never wanted you to know I was here, that I was still alive. Well, as alive as a vampire gets."

She shook her head, totally confused.

"What? Why?"

He looked her straight in the eye and she felt the honesty there.

"Because I wanted you to remember me well. I wanted those final moments in Sunnydale, the time I finally did something right, to be what you remembered me for. That was the only way I could ever see you feeling anything close to love for me."

Buffy tore her eyes away, blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Just because some evil bastards decided to resurrect you, it doesn't erase the good that you did. You saved us. I haven't forgotten that. I would never forget that."

She offered him a sly smile.

"Hey, most of us have died at least once already."

Spike snorted with laughter.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's bordering on unfashionable these days."

She moved next to him, leaning over the railings and staring down at the charred remnants of the impromptu funeral pyre. Buffy desperately wanted to get rid of the anger and frustration that was still eating away at her. She cast a slant glance in the vampire's direction.

"Giles better find me something to pummel pretty soon…"

Spike rolled his eyes.

"Careful love, you're starting to sound like big blue in there."

She shrugged.

"Maybe she's got the right idea, forcing another battle. I mean, you followed Angel to war when he did it and that weakened the Senior Partner's power."

"Yeah, but it took Cordelia to save us and we lost both Wesley and Gunn. So we may have weakened them, but they hurt us more."

"Ah, but that's why I'm here!"

Spike aimed a raised eyebrow at her and immediately regretted it as the pain shot through his forehead. He sucked in a breath through his teeth as his knees buckled and his vision swam.

Buffy shot forward, catching him easily. She swung his left arm over her shoulders and propped him up. He looked down at her and their eyes locked again, though this time there was no electricity, just mutual understanding.

"I know you never loved me, Buffy."

She smiled sadly.

"But that doesn't mean I didn't care, that I don't care now."

Spike's knees gave way again and she held him up. He didn't say anything. He didn't know what he could say. Buffy shifted his weight and gently nudged him forwards.

"Let's get you inside and fix you up."

Spike let her help him. He hated the fact that she wasn't his, he hated that he knew she never would be, but most of all he hated himself for ever daring to hope.

Hope was a dangerous thing.


	13. Once A Scooby, Always A Scooby

Connor charged through the hotel, clambering over fallen beams and piles of rubble. He didn't even think about where he was going. He knew exactly where his father would be.

Stumbling as he came out of the stairs, Connor came to a sudden halt as he stared open-mouthed, fear twisting his stomach into knots. The corridor that used to hold Angel's room was a hazy mess of twisted metal and concrete, the thick clouds of dust coating Connor's throat.

He tried to yell out but all he could do was cough intensely as the thick air almost choked him. He stumbled forwards, his hands gingerly feeling through the smoke in front of him.

Climbing over the mounds of debris, Connor's eyes filled with tears. As they streamed, he tried to convince himself it was just from the smoke and dust but panic was starting to take over. He tried to call out again.

"Angel? Angel, where are you?"

All he could hear was the ominous sound of the building creaking as more parts of the ceiling collapsed somewhere ahead of him. Coughing profusely, he slithered over the enormous chunks of masonry, trying to avoid the shards of broken glass.

After an agonising few minutes, Connor found himself at the gaping hole that used to be the doorway to Angel's room. Swallowing hard, he clambered down and through the clouds of dust.

Stumbling through the darkness, he stood still and tried to let his eyes adjust. It was hard to believe the area in front of him had ever even been a hotel room. One of the wall's was just a pile of rubble, the ceiling opened up in to the rooms above and pieces of furniture littered what was left of the floor.

He stared around in fearful disbelief, his heart in his mouth.

"Angel?"

Movement caught his eye and Connor took a tentative step forward. The area around the bed was where most of the ceiling had ended up, timbers and metal twisted around each other. And it was moving.

Connor raced forward, ripping the debris away from the body underneath, calling his father's name.

"Angel, come on, get up!"

His hand came through a gap in the rubble and Connor grabbed it, the relief washing over him. After a few more minutes of digging, Angel was clear. Covered in dust and blood, Connor gingerly reached out to hug his father. Despite the pain he was in, Angel held him tight.

Connor pulled back, a concerned eye running over his injuries.

"Are you ok? Do you feel alright?"

Angel nodded slowly before collapsing in to a coughing fit, sending shooting pains through his chest. He tried not to wince as he smiled at his son.

"Not great, but I'll be fine."

He tried to get to his feet but his knees immediately gave way.

"Might not be fine for a couple of days but I'll get there."

Connor offered him a hand up and he dutifully took it, trying not to rest all his weight on the young lad. Skirting around the holes in the floor, the pair reached the rubble that blocked the corridor. Barely able to stand, let alone go rock climbing, Angel sighed.

"Well, this could be interesting."

Connor coughed hard, trying to keep the dust out of his lungs.

"We'll get through it."

Angel looked down at his son, pride and love in his eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah, we will."

oooOOOooo

Buffy staggered inside, propping up Spike. Willow rushed forward.

"Oh my god, are you ok?"

Spike collapsed on to the sofa as Willow inspected his wound.

"Yeah. But since when have you had a twin?"

"Ok…"

Willow threw Buffy a worried look and scuttled off to find a first aid kit. Xander turned to pass Giles a book when he saw Willow disappear behind the counter with a yelp. He rushed over to help her up and panicked when he saw she was covered from head to toe in blood.

"Oh my god, Willow are you ok?"

She nodded slowly, her eyes wide as he helped her to feet.

"I think so. I'm ok. But you're looking at me weird. Am I ok? Is my head still on?"

Giles rushed over.

"Oh my god, Willow!"

She turned to Xander, her eyes the size of saucers.

"Really, am I ok? You're all looking at me funny."

Giles looked up and down with a grimace.

"You're bleeding."

Willow looked down at herself, her white top soaked red.

"It's… It's not my blood."

Giles looked down at the floor. A large chunk of masonry had landed in the area behind the counter, crushing an old fridge. Now laying on its side with the door a few feet away, the old blood packs inside had ripped open, spilling their contents across the floor and creating a long red snake up to the trio's feet. Giles looked up at the relieved pair in front of him.

"The river of blood…"

He rushed off to retrieve Wesley's diary as Xander took off his sweater and offered it to Willow, brushing down the t-shirt he'd been wearing underneath.

Buffy wandered over to them, quickly taking in the bloody scene.

"Everything alright?"

Willow nodded, a slight look of disgust on her face.

"Yeah, just getting covered in Angel's old pig's blood. Just another day in the wacky world of Willow."

She grabbed the first aid kit and marched back over to Spike to patch him up. Giles returned, clutching Wesley's diary which he thrust at Buffy. With a raised eyebrow, she took it from him.

"What's up?"

He jabbed a finger at the page in front of him.

"The portents."

She stared at him and Xander rolled his eyes as he walked away.

"Yeah, because that explains everything."

Giles cleared his throat and pointed at the page again.

"The portents are nearly all complete. Look!"

She read aloud.

"_The ground below shall tremble, _

_Both moon and sun will glow. _

_God's cry been silenced, _

_A river of blood will flow. _

_Trusted friends assemble, _

_To answer to the call. _

_And the curséd one shall stand there, _

_But so shall he fall._"

Buffy sighed as she passed the book back.

"Ok, I get the whole ground trembling part to be that earthquake, but what about the rest? I mean as far as I know, that's only the sun out there and I don't see any red rivers."

Giles pointed at the blood on the floor at their feet and Buffy shrugged.

"Oh, fair point."

He nodded, removing his glasses to polish them as he theorised. Buffy smiled to herself. _Some things never change._

"The trusted friends are obviously our little group. I don't think we have a lot of time to prepare."

Buffy started to think ahead to the coming End of Days.

"We need weapons and we need people."

A familiar voice sounded from the lobby.

"Hey."

Hearing Willow squeal with delight, Buffy turned around to see Oz sauntering across to hug her.

"Got your message. I was doing a gig on the other side of town. Saw the big hubbub on the news. Big stuff going down, huh?"

Willow hugged him again, as Xander crossed over to slap him on the back. Oz nodded to him as Buffy pulled him in to a friendly embrace.

"Good to see you, Oz. We can use all the help we can get."

He smiled at her.

"Once a Scooby, always a Scooby."

Giles wandered over to shake his hand and even Spike nodded a hello, instantly regretting it as the pain shot through his temple again. Oz turned to the former Watcher.

"So what's the deal? Did you call me in for my werewolf opinion or just because you were worried about little old me not staying in my cage?"

Giles blinked rapidly.

"Your werewolf opinion?"

Oz shrugged.

"Well, because of the fact that the entire of Los Angeles is getting a suntan while enjoying a very romantic full moon."

Giles's eyes widened as Xander ran to the doors to look outside.

"He's not kidding, G-man. That's a very Star Wars sky we got up there."

Oz frowned as he considered that comment.

"Star Wars?"

Xander wandered back over towards him with a shrug.

"Yeah, you know in Episode III: A New Hope when Luke's looking out over his uncle's moisture farm."

"That's two moons, there's no sun."

"Then where's all the light coming from?"

"The movie's lighting guy."

Willow grinned as she watched the two men bickering, realising how much she had missed them all being together. Giles, meanwhile, pulled Buffy aside.

"That leaves only one more portent before the End of Days begins."

She nodded slowly.

"We need to do more research, Giles, we need to figure out where this is going to happen and what we can do. We need a plan, a good one. You know, the type with codenames and blueprints and all of that."

He nodded in agreement and she started to move away before he put a hand on her arm and pulled her back.

"Buffy, there's something else I need you to consider."

He paused and she frowned, knowing right away that it wasn't going to be good news.

"People are going to get hurt and I need you to be prepared for - "

She cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"Giles, we've been here before and we've all got through it together. We can do this. We can beat this apocalypse just like all the others."

He sighed heavily.

"Wesley didn't make it through the last one. And this isn't just another apocalypse. This is an all out assault that's meant to signal the return of our existence to the times of the Ancient Ones, making us humans just fodder for the demon hordes. This apocalypse is intended to turn our world in to another hell dimension."

Giles looked over the group, chatting and laughing together as Illyria regarded them with an almost bored expression. Turning his gaze back to Buffy, he swallowed hard.

"But none of that is the part that worries me. We are all willing volunteers and we know what we're up against. I'm just not sure that you do."

She frowned and shook her head in confusion.

"Giles, what are you talking about? I know what I'm up against. Yet another big bad evil thing, probably slimy and living in a crypt. That's if Hell has crypts…"

"The final lines of the prophecy that Wesley made Illyria write say that the cursed one will fall."

She shrugged.

"So?"

"Who do you know in this building that's cursed?"

Buffy stared at him a moment, totally lost, before the realisation of what he was telling her finally began to filter through. Not that she was willing to believe it.

"You're saying Angel's going to die?"

Giles began to polish his glasses again with incredible zeal, all just to avoid looking at her.

"I'm saying that is my interpretation of this prophecy, yes. Though with Spike's involvement as well, I can't be one hundred percent sure. The likelihood would indeed point to Angel. After all, Spike _chose_ to have his soul returned to him. Angel didn't."

Buffy's gaze was drawn to the bleached blonde vampire, currently lying on the sofa. He had been drawn in to bickering with Xander but seemed to be enjoying it.

"I don't accept this Giles. I can't accept the fact that any of us won't make it through. I just can't do that."

She locked eyes with him and felt a father's love there. Swallowing hard, she admitted her deepest fear.

"And I refuse to lose Angel again."

Giles nodded and laid a compassionate hand on her shoulder.

"I understand Buffy, I just thought you ought to be aware of all the facts as I know them."

She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. She watched as Giles returned to the office to attempt more research before turning her gaze back on to her motley crew. As far as she was concerned, they were strongest as a team and they would win. She was not prepared to lose this fight. Or Angel.

Her heart fell and Buffy closed her eyes to steady herself, slowly realising just how much she still loved him. Opening her eyes, it suddenly occurred to her that Connor still hadn't returned with his father. Her heart now pounding so hard she thought he might explode through her chest, Buffy raced towards the stairs.

She had to find the man she loved.


	14. Helping Hands

Angel struggled down the corridor, feeling guilty about having to put practically his entire weight on his exhausted son. Reaching the top of the stairs, Angel leaned against the railings to give Connor a break. Looking down over the lobby, he was surprised to see Oz chatting to the group but was relieved to see everyone was ok.

He automatically found himself searching the gang for Buffy. His eyes locked on her talking to Giles and looking thoroughly confused. Angel felt the relief wash over him and he sighed.

Just seeing her there rid him of any thoughts of giving up. He turned to look at his son and felt a sudden surge of love. How had he ever felt like he couldn't care when he had so much to live for?

He swallowed hard, wincing from the pain that coursed through his entire body. He was relieved that one of the perks of being a vampire was that he'd heal quickly. That was probably the only reason he was still alive in the first place.

Angel returned his gaze to Buffy. Giles had walked away and she was leaning on the counter, looking scared. Connor sauntered over and smiled.

"Ready to tackle the stairs?"

He smiled back, slinging his arm around his son's shoulders and shifting his weight.

"Thanks."

Connor grinned, supporting him as they shuffled away from the railing.

"Hey, what are son's for?"

Angel couldn't find the words to reply. Reaching the first step, he looked down and saw Buffy charging towards the stairs. Halfway up, she saw him and stopped dead in tracks.

"Angel? Oh my god, are you alright?"

She rushed up to meet them, helping shoulder his weight with Connor who gave her a smile in greeting, understanding the look she gave his father.

"I'll be fine. Really, Buffy, I will. I'm just glad that you're ok."

She helped them down the stairs slowly.

"Well, I told you I wasn't going anywhere."

Reaching the lobby, Willow rushed forward to help him on to the sofa, opening up the first aid kit again with a concerned gaze.

"What happened, Angel?"

He shrugged and instantly regretted it as a stabbing pain shot through his shoulder.

"I was upstairs and well, I guess the ceiling caved in."

Willow helped remove Angel's shirt, noticing the flush that crept across Buffy's cheeks. She grinned to herself, hopeful that she might be getting some vicarious smoochies after all.

Giles wandered over, his nose stuffed in a book. He did a double take seeing the state of Angel.

"Oh dear. Are you ok?"

He nodded, wincing as Willow bandaged his chest with Connor looking on in concern. Buffy moved away, pulling Giles with her.

"Do I tell him?"

Giles frowned.

"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?"

"Do I tell Angel about the prophecy? I mean, I know he's read it, but do you think he realises what it means?"

Giles sighed, lowering the book in front of him.

"Personally, I would tell him, but to be honest Buffy, this is up to you."

She sighed.

"You're right. Well, it's not like he hasn't died before or anything."

Seeing the look on Giles's face, she shrugged.

"Just trying to make with the funny here, lighten the mood. Feel free to join in anytime."

He just shook his head and wandered back in to the office. Buffy turned around to face the others. Willow was packing up the first aid kit with help from Connor (who blush profusely when their hands skimmed each others), Illyria was stood at the door staring up at the sky, Xander and Oz were sat on the steps flicking through books, and Spike was hiding just outside the back door, smoking and attempting to stay out of the light. Angel was lying on the sofa, gingerly inspecting a large bandage on his chest.

Buffy crossed over to him and when he looked up at her, his eyes lit up. She smiled sadly and sat down beside him.

"So that ceiling got you pretty good, huh?"

He laughed, ignoring the pain it caused.

"Guess the hotel's just a little pissed at me for leaving it alone so long."

She smiled, though the fact that she was wringing her hands in her lap gave away her nerves. Angel laid a cool hand over them to still her and looked Buffy straight in the eye. Despite the pain he was in, all she could see was concern for her.

"What is it?"

She sighed heavily, her heart in her mouth as she spoke.

"The prophecy, the one Wesley wrote…"

She couldn't do it, she couldn't tell the man she loved that he was going to die. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"It's something bad, isn't it? What's Giles's big old brain figured out now?"

Buffy felt the tears prick her eyes.

"The final two lines…"

The tears choked her and she turned away, embarrassed and scared. She heard Angel reciting it under his breath and there was a long pause. She turned back and found that he was staring at her, his eyes full of unspoken longing. He sighed.

"I guess Giles decided that I'm the cursed one then. So, this is really going to be the final battle for me. I'm going to die."

His gaze followed his son, walking back behind the counter with Willow, deep in conversation. He smiled to himself.

"Someone should really tell Connor that Willow's a lesbian."

Buffy groaned.

"Don't do that, Angel, don't try and avoid this. Though you're not wrong about Connor. He's sure got the puppy love. But we need to talk about the prophecy, about what it says is going to happen. "

He shook his head.

"No, we really don't."

She glared at him but he just smiled, brushing a loose blonde tendril behind her ear and sending shots of electricity through her whole body. When she opened her mouth to speak, Buffy found her voice was quiet and thick with fear.

"I can't watch you die. I can't let that happen again. If nothing else, that boy needs his father. I need…"

Her eyes locked with his and she knew she didn't need to finish her sentence. He already knew how she felt. He always knew.

Smiling sadly, Angel shrugged.

"Talking about this won't change the prophecy and I don't like seeing you upset about it. There's always a thousand ways to read stuff like this. Granted, right now, it's not looking too good for me, but how many cursed demons do you think the Senior Partners will have? I sometimes find it hard to believe but hope is a good and powerful thing."

She cupped his face in her hand, her lower lip trembling as she fought back the tears.

"Hope won't save your life, Angel."

He smiled, laying his own hand over hers and moving it down so he could kiss her palm. She smiled back, a bittersweet smile that broke his heart a little.

"No, but you might. And so might any one of the others. We don't know what's going to happen. Our entire lives are a mystery we have to figure out for ourselves. All the prophecies in the world can't make me leave you like that."

She let her fingers interlace with his, staring at their hands intertwined and loving the comforting familiarity.

"But you already have, Angel, and that's what scares me. I sent you to Hell before remember? And then you walked away from me to come here. Not to mention the fact that if it wasn't for Cordelia, you'd be dead right now anyway."

She paused and frowned.

"Now, that's a sentence I never expected to say. By the way, how is Cordelia now a higher being? How's that work?"

Angel felt a pang of guilt as he remembered her.

"She changed a lot when she got out here, Buffy. She grew up to be a truly amazing woman. What with the visions and her courage, she became a Champion and I guess the Powers saw that."

Buffy looked at him with a hopeful smile.

"And you're sure she can't help us in this next big battle?"

He shook his head.

"She said she couldn't. We're on our own in this. But it doesn't matter. We've been through worse."

Buffy found that hard to believe but nodded in agreement anyway. He squeezed her hand.

"Look Buffy, whatever's coming, I just want you to know…"

He tailed off and she waited, knowing this was not a time to interrupt.

"I just want to say that even with everything that's happened in the last few years, I never stopped loving you. I never will. You're my girl. Always."

Her heart pounding in her chest, Buffy practically leapt into his arms, suddenly asking herself why she ever let him go.

"I love you too, Angel, and I always will."

She felt him kiss her on the crown of her head and she felt safe. Eventually, she pulled away a little, looking up in to those deep dark eyes. He offered her a slight smile.

"Even though you have a boyfriend?"

His words stung, and she couldn't keep the venom from the reply she fired back.

"And even though you have a girlfriend?"

He winced and she was glad. But within seconds she felt guilty about it. He ventured an apology first.

"I was out of line there, Buffy, I'm sorry."

"I know, me too."

Angel stared off in to space for a moment, before his eyes flicked back to the only woman in over two hundred years that had ever made him truly happy.

"Mind you, on the phone earlier, I think Nina and I may have broken up…"

Buffy couldn't help but grin.

"Don't worry, I haven't even told Immy that I'm here. And with his possessive streak and me travelling halfway round the world to save _you_ of all people, I doubt that's still on the table either."

Angel was staring at her with an incredulous expression.

"Immy? You call him _Immy_?"

He laughed heartily and it was like music to her ears, even if it was a little at her expense.

"Well, you try dating someone called The Immortal and see how you deal with it!"

Angel just grinned at her.

"Just wait till Spike hears about this!"

He collapsed in to a fit of not-so-manly giggles before it was rapidly replaced by uncontrollable coughing. Not sure what to do, Buffy gingerly patted his back, concern etched on her face. After a couple more seconds of the hacking cough, it began to subside and Angel turned to her with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that."

"Hey, it's fine. As long as you're fine, that is."

He nodded and leaned forward to kiss her forehead, only pulling back a little way so their noses were almost touching. She felt her heart begin to pound again.

"Well, I'm with you so of course I'm fine."

"You're really cheesey, do you know that?"

He smiled.

"Yeah, just realised."

He didn't move away and neither did she.

"Angel?"

"Yeah."

"Whatever happens, I don't want to lose you again."

Her breath was warm on his cheek as he leaned in even closer.

"Just as well, because I'm not going anywhere."

And just as their lips were finally about to meet, a blood curdling scream echoed through the lobby.

Cursing the timing, Buffy spun round to see an unfamiliar woman stood in the doorway with Illyria lying in a crumpled heap at her feet. Blood dripped from the knife by the stranger's side and she was pointing a gun right at them.

The woman smiled bitterly, a look in her eye that spelt revenge.

"Hello Angel."


	15. Back With A Vengence

The group milling around the lobby jumped at the scream that echoed around the hotel. Illyria fell to the ground, clutching the bloody wound in her stomach. The woman stood over her, a twisted smile playing across her lips as she pointed a gun at the group, the bloody knife dripping at her side.

Xander and Oz backed away from the steps at her feet as Giles rushed out of the office, skidding to a stop beside Willow and Connor. Angel took a step forward, manoeuvring himself to shield Buffy.

The woman moved away from Illyria, anger and revenge glinting in her eyes.

"Hello Angel."

Without looking, he felt Buffy's shocked and inquisitive eyes bore into him. Folding his arms, he sighed heavily, trying not to look at Illyria writhing on the ground.

"Hello Eve."

The smile disappeared as she took another step forward, still brandishing the revolver.

"Thought I should pay you a visit and congratulate you on escaping the wrath of the Senior Partners. At least for now."

Angel couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, congratulations on doing it yourself. How have they not killed _you_ yet?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"You proved to be quite a distraction."

Her gaze shifted behind him.

"So, who's the blonde? Get bored of your werewolf chippy, huh?"

Angel felt Buffy tense up behind him and tried to position himself fully in front of her again as he spoke.

"What do you want, Eve?"

She stared at him for a moment, incredulous.

"What do I want? What do I _want_?"

Angel shrugged, not letting himself show her any fear despite the fact that Illyria had stopped moving altogether. Eve pointed the gun right between his eyes, her rage spilling over as she spat her words at him.

"All I wanted was for my Lindsey to come back to me but you put a stop to that."

Buffy leant forward, whispering to Angel.

"She's gay?"

Before Angel could answer, Eve was pointing the gun right at the Slayer.

"Don't you dare whisper about him, insulting his memory! You didn't know him, what he was really like!"

Angel snorted with laughter.

"Well, I think his constant attempts to kill me and my friends sort of gave me a clue. What did you expect me to do? Just send him on his merry way to try and kill me again as soon as my back was turned?"

Eve was waving the gun around as she got increasingly angry, her face flushed with rage. Xander backed away but Oz stood his ground, eyeing the revolver warily but concerned for Illyria.

"You were supposed to send him back to me, but instead you got your karaoke lackey to shoot him. He was supposed to come back to me, you promised! We would have left you alone."

Angel rolled his eyes.

"I somehow find that very hard to believe. Maybe it was all the attempts on my life that did it."

"You don't understand! How could you? You've obviously never loved someone, never lived or died by what they thought and felt. You killed _me_ when you killed him. How would you feel if the love of your life, the person you couldn't imagine spending a single second apart from, was killed. Huh? What would you do?"

Instinctively, Angel glanced at Buffy and caught her eye. The emotion in that one quick look was palpable and Eve didn't miss it. She started to laugh as she waved the gun in their direction.

"Oh, look at this, the vampire with a soul has a heart too? Well, isn't this interesting! What's your name, sweetheart?"

Eve got no reply. Sneering, she began examining the bloody knife in her hand.

"A knife this sharp, it just slides through like butter. How about the redhead, huh? She made of butter?"

She looked up, her eyes flashing with rage.

"If you don't tell me your name, I'll soon find out."

Buffy swallowed back her anger, her words still dripping with venom when she finally replied.

"My name is Buffy. I'm the Slayer."

Eve couldn't suppress a fit of giggles as she shot a look at Angel.

"You dated a girl called _Buffy_? Seriously?"

Angel shot her a look right back.

"You dated a guy called Lindsey? Seriously?"

She glared at him, aiming the gun right at Buffy's head.

"How would it feel, Angel, if you lost her? If you watched me murder her right in front of your eyes, suck the life right out of her little blonde body? Just how much would that hurt?"

Angel took a step forward, the anger rising up within him.

"Nowhere near as much as what I'm about to do to you."

"Too late, lover boy, time to say goodbye to your girlfriend."

The next few minutes seemed to happen in slow motion. The gun went off just as Angel spun around, realising he was too far away to pull Buffy to safety. As he heard the gun fire for a second time, Angel dived in to the path of the bullets, just as an enormous blue flash illuminated the lobby, sweeping over him like a wave. Hitting the ground hard, the pain from his previous injuries blurred his mind, almost making him pass out.

Hearing a scream, he looked back up at Eve to see Spike bursting through the door, his coat smoking from the sunshine. He had grabbed Eve by the neck and thrown her to the ground while the wave of blue light caught the bullets in mid air. They hung there for a moment before erupting in to tiny balls of flame and a shower of ash. The wave kept moving, sweeping over Spike, Eve and Illyria's bleeding body. Both the gun and the knife glowed blue for a moment before turning into dust on the breeze.

Eve burst in to tears and jumped to her feet as Oz swooped in to check on Illyria. Eve began throwing wild punches at Spike, eventually getting in a good backhand that nearly knocked him unconscious and set the wound on his temple to bleeding profusely again.

Keeping her at arm's length, Spike threw Angel and Buffy a questioning look.

"I know I'm a white hat and all that these days, mate, but _please_ can I punch her?"

Buffy had rushed to Angel's side and was checking him over, her voice cold as she looked up at Spike.

"If you don't, I will."

Spike grinned at her.

"Cheers love."

He spun round, delivering a fierce backhand where he felt his knuckles practically crush her cheekbone. Unconscious, Eve crashed to the floor. He turned back to the group with a look of pure satisfaction.

"I've wanted to do that for months."

Xander sauntered over, casting a worried eye over Oz's shoulder.

"Turned you down, didn't she?"

Spike ignored the comment and turned his gaze on Willow.

"Hey Red. Nice work on the glowing wave thing over there but think you can do something for big blue over here."

Willow rushed forward, pushing Xander out of the way, with Giles a step behind. Connor practically sprinted across the lobby to help Buffy pull Angel to his feet before they too joined the group watching over Illyria.

She was even paler than usual, her body armour split where the knife had entered her stomach. The carpet beneath her on the landing had turned a deep shade of sticky red. Oz looked at Willow and shook his head, implying the worst was coming.

Swallowing hard, the young witch rubbed her hands together and started chanting under her breath. No one else dared to speak as a strange purple-pink glow started to emanate from Willow's fingertips. The smoky tendrils swirled around her hands and gradually moved towards Illyria's wound, snaking in and out of her armour and round and round her waist.

After a few minutes, Willow stopped, looking utterly drained. Oz leant forward, his fingers gingerly examining the skin under the rip in Illyria's clothing.

"It's healed. Nice work, Will."

She smiled faintly but otherwise barely moved. Connor was still concerned, leaving Angel behind as he tentatively moved in for a closer look.

"Are you sure? Will she be ok?"

Willow smiled up at him, her eyes hooded from exhaustion.

"Hopefully she'll be fine in a few hours. I gave her a kind of magical sedative too, just to make sure she'd stay still while everything's getting properly fixed up inside her."

"But she's not gonna die though, right?"

Buffy leaned in close to Angel, whispering conspiratorially.

"Guess it's not just redheads Connor's got a thing for."

Angel smiled, whispering back.

"I think it's the leather."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Like father, like son…"

Oz was staring at Willow now.

"Are you sure you're ok, Will?"

She smiled at him absently.

"Yeah, fine. Fixing mortal wounds is kinda draining, you know? I'm just gonna lie down for a minute."

Both Connor and Xander were immediately on either side of her, guiding her to the sofa. Buffy didn't even see her best friend's feet touch the floor once.

She turned and looked at Angel, seeing the pain flickering in his eyes.

"You really shouldn't have done that."

He frowned, inching toward the circular sofa in the middle of the lobby as he clutched his aching shoulder.

"Shouldn't have done what?"

She rolled her eyes at him again as she helped him over and sat him down.

"That whole diving in front of the bullet, Captain America hero thing you did before. I do have superhuman speed, in case you've forgotten."

He smiled and took her hand, pulling her down to sit beside him.

"Yeah, but faster than a speeding bullet? I guess I'm just reading the wrong comic books. And anyway, if I got shot, it couldn't kill me. I could never take the risk of seeing anything happen to you, Buffy, especially if there was anything I could do to stop it."

She smiled back at him as she seated herself beside him, carefully wiping blood away from the small graze on his forehead.

"You're so sweet! But how about next time, you just get me flowers or candy?"

He laughed and she hugged him, careful to avoid the sore spots as he rested his chin on the top of her head. Still cradled in his arms, Buffy looked over at Eve. Spike was leaning on the pillar, keeping an eye on her while he lazily smoked a cigarette, staring at the crumpled body at his feet with disdain.

"What do we do with her?"

Angel shrugged.

"I don't know."

Buffy shifted slightly so she could look up at him.

"How about we tie her up and serve her to the demon hordes as an appetiser?"

Angel grinned and kissed the top of her head.

"As tempting as that sounds - and believe me, it _really_ is - she used to be the Senior Partner's liaison. I doubt she knows anything useful but it can't hurt to ask."

Buffy practically growled.

"Well, it might hurt her…"

She caught the amused expression on Angel's face and raised her hands in defence.

"What? The bitch tried to shoot me!"

Angel just grinned.

"Tell you what, information first, torture later."

She grinned back.

"In my experience, it usually works best the other way around."

Giles cleared his throat loudly beside them to announce his presence. Buffy smiled up at him but it soon faded.

"What's wrong?"

He sighed heavily.

"I think we need to get that information sooner rather than later, whether by torture or not."

Buffy shrunk under his disapproving glare and Giles continued.

"My research has not been particularly fruitful. I have found numerous references to the End of Days but the problem is that every group that tries to bring about an apocalypse claims it'll be the end of all life on earth and a return to the time of the Ancient Ones. It's a little hard to narrow it down."

Angel shrugged.

"Well, as soon as Eve comes round -"

Giles cut him off and Buffy was surprised and a little scared to hear a hint of fear in his voice.

"We don't have time."

She frowned.

"But there's still one more portent to be fulfilled, right?"

Giles waved in the direction of the sofa behind him.

"I think you'll find that our god was just silenced."

As if on cue, the light suddenly began to dim. Within seconds, it was pitch black outside and Connor rushed round the lobby, turning on lights. A distant rumbling was beginning to grow louder and louder as far off screams pierced the night.

Giles turned back to Angel and Buffy, not bothering to hide the abject terror in his eyes.

"Welcome to the End of Days."


	16. Resist Me

It was three thirty in the afternoon in Los Angeles and it was pitch black outside. Those that were still in the city following the apocalyptic battle only the day before were now fleeing in droves. Sirens and distant screams echoed through the impromptu night as Angel stared upwards, seeing stars for the first time since arriving in the city. Somehow, they seemed different to how he remembered them.

He felt Buffy enter the garden behind him, watching him from the terrace. Just hearing her voice gave him goosepimples.

"I need to talk to you."

Angel turned to face her as she walked down the steps toward him, the light from the lobby behind her creating a glow in her blonde hair, almost giving her a halo. He nodded slowly, steeling himself.

"I know, me too."

He took her hand, holding it between them like some sort of buffer zone as he looked her in the eye.

"Look, that kiss we almost had before… You have no idea how much I wanted that to happen, how much I've missed you. I love you Buffy, I always have and I always will. But you and me… We both know how that would end and I can't do that to you again. I _won't_."

Buffy sighed heavily.

"Angel…"

He squeezed her hand, his eyes locked on to hers.

"No, please let me finish."

She blinked rapidly and he knew she was fighting back tears. He offered a tentative smile as he tried to explain how he felt.

"Ever since I first saw you sitting on the steps to your school, wearing your heart on your sleeve, I loved you and wanted to protect you. And it kills me to admit this, but protecting you means keeping you away from me. If we went back there, if we let ourselves try again, we'd want more. But we can't risk it, we can't tempt fate like that."

He grasped her hand tighter and she looked down at their fingers weaving between each other, something she used to take for granted but now welcomed like an old friend long since lost. She squeezed his hand reassuringly, signalling for him to continue.

"I don't want to lose you again, Buffy, but every time I see you… It kills me inside. Knowing that even if you were willing to spend the rest of your life with me, I could never spend the rest of my life with you, and that kills me too. I'd watch you grow old and you'd hate me for it, hate me for all the things that we can never do together, and I can't stand the thought of you ever looking at me like that. Because I love you so much that I…"

Angel took a step forward, brushing the hair away from Buffy's face.

"Look, if the prophecy is right, I'm not going to get through this."

He raised a hand to silence her objections and for once, she dutifully complied.

"I don't know if I really believe all of that anyway but just in case, I wanted you to know that if I could, if we could… I love you, Buffy. The idea of anything happening to you, of seeing you hurt, it kills me. I need to know that you're ok. I need to know that for _me_ to be ok. And if that means that I can't be with you, I have to do it, no matter how much it hurts."

He stared at her, not sure what else to say but tempted to take it all back and just kiss her right then. She shook her head and sighed.

"I was actually going to say that I came out here to talk to you about what weapons or plans you might have to help us get through this whole End of Days malarkey."

Angel dropped her hand and stepped backwards.

"Oh. Well, ok. I don't feel like an idiot now or anything…"

Buffy wrung her hands in front of her, partly because of nerves and partly to stop herself from reaching out to him.

"No, Angel, it's ok."

She stepped away from him, examining the jasmine bushes around the garden area.

"You're right, you know."

He turned to look at her, each of them standing on opposite sides of the yard.

"I'm right? Wow, that's a first."

She shrugged, idly picking at the plants.

"Not really. You were right to leave Sunnydale, leave me, and come to LA. You've done a lot of good here. But the other thing you were right about was us. We _would_ always want more. It would be dangerous for us to be together. I know that Angel, same as you."

Buffy looked up at him, distractedly rolling a sprig of jasmine between her fingertips.

"I love you. And before in my dream, when I saw you fighting in that alley, when I thought that you'd died, my whole world came crashing down. I've always had hope Angel. I don't know why and I don't even really know what I've been hoping for, but I had hope."

He smiled, nodding to himself.

"Hope is a powerful thing."

Their eyes met and she knew he felt the exact same way, had hoped for the exact same things. She felt a smile brush her lips.

"Yeah, I guess it is. But that's why I have to just say this…"

She stepped forward, hands on hips as she glared at him.

"SHUT UP!"

He jumped, total confusion on his face at the fact she had just yelled at him. Buffy stalked toward him, still glaring.

"How dare you say all of this to me? Back inside, you were telling me you could never lose me again, that hope would basically save your life, and now what? You decide to recite the same old script we play out every time we see each other. Well, I'm sick of it, Angel! I know where we stand. I don't need it ramming down my throat at every available opportunity."

He opened his mouth to reply but she didn't give him the chance.

"Yes, we still love each other. No, we still can't be together. And yes, seeing you does hurt because I know I can't just reach out and touch you, I can't kiss you, I can't do any of the things that I want to do. It kills me too, Angel. So why do the lecture, huh?"

Angel frowned at her, not sure if he was actually supposed to answer. When Buffy was still glaring at him a minute later, he swallowed hard and stepped towards her.

"It was never supposed to be a lecture and if it came out that way, I'm sorry. If anything I was telling myself. I've missed you so much and suddenly, here you are. And I realised that I don't care about the demons or the Senior Partners or the End of Days because all I want to do is grab you and kiss you and never let you out of my sight again. It takes all I am just to resist you."

She arched an eyebrow, obviously about to come up with some snide remark but he quickly laid a finger on her lips. Seeing Buffy's surprised silence, he smiled and moved his hand to cup her face, angling it up to his own. She smiled back and he could practically hear her heart racing as she whispered.

"So resist me."

Their faces were so close now, he could feel the heat in her cheeks, their noses brushing together.

"I am."

She leaned in closer but he inched back a little, still leaving the minute gap between them.

"Buffy…"

He felt her stiffen as he moved away and knew she thought he was rejecting her again. His smile widened.

"That whole speech before… I had hope up until all this started. There was a prophecy, a different one, which said that after the final apocalypse I might turn human."

Her eyes widened and her mouth curved in to that enormous grin that melted his heart. He shook his head.

"But I had to sign it away, I had no choice. And you know what the only thing that almost stopped me from doing that was? You. The hope that one day you and I would be able to live a normal life together. And when I saw this new prophecy saying that I would die, it hit home exactly what it was that I'd given up. I was always meant to die here today, Buffy, but before all this started there was a chance that I could come back and be with you."

A solitary tear ran down her cheek and she blinked rapidly. He could see anger in her eyes but didn't move away.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because that's why I said all those things about us not being able to be together. Because I know that all of this is my fault, all of it, and I don't want to see you get hurt. At least not any more than you have to."

She frowned, shaking her head slightly, but never taking her eyes off his.

"I don't know what you mean. Are you saying you're driving me away so that I _don't_ get hurt? Because if you are, it didn't work."

He gently stroked her cheek, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"I was scared, Buffy. I was scared that if I let you get close to me again, it would be hard for you when all this is over and you survive. Because you will. You'll see a tomorrow. But not with me."

The tears were flowing freely now and Angel felt the sting of emotion in his own eyes.

"Don't say that, it's not true! You _will_ beat this Angel, you have to! So stop playing the martyr. No one needs martyrs, Angel, we need heroes."

"What's the difference?"

"A hero will die for the cause if he needs to, but he'd much rather live for it. I need you to live for this, Angel. I need you to be a Champion, and you need it too. For god's sake, Angel, I don't care that we can't be together as long as I know you're ok, that you're safe. As long as I still have a chance to…"

He didn't bother to wipe either of their tears away as he leant in close, finishing her sentence.

"To hope."

For the first time in years, their lips met, though it felt like they'd never been apart. Buffy's hands snaked up his back as the kiss grew harder, her fingers exploring the muscles under his sweater. Angel's hands gently caressed the small of her back from under her shirt, pulling her body in tight to him as their kiss grew steadily hungrier and more forceful.

Her fingers entangled in his hair, his fingers running down her spine, they both shivered as their skin seemed to prickle with excitement. They lost the world altogether, unaware the world had lost them too.

oooOOOooo

Connor wandered out on to the terrace to find his father. He'd seen Buffy come out here to talk to him and left it as long as possible before he ventured out himself. He didn't know what the history was between the two of them but it was abundantly clear that there was a lot of it.

Walking out of the dimly lit lobby, he felt like he'd been swallowed by the night. He stopped, attempting to let his eyes adjust to the dark. After a while, he realised they weren't. Confused, he called in to the night.

"Angel? Buffy? Where are you, guys?"

He shuffled forward a few steps, stopping when his toes were barely inches away from where the light gave up. Connor tentatively stretched his hand out in front of him, watching as it was swallowed by the darkness instantly coupled with a strange tingling sensation.

Scared of what was happening to his arm, Connor tried to pull away but something was pulling his hand back in, trying to drag his entire body into the dark void. Slowly but surely, it was working.

Now terrified, Connor yelled for help and Willow came running. Seeing the bizarre sight in front of her, she came to a sudden stop, unaware Giles was right behind her until he crashed into her back. Open mouthed, the pair stared at the young lad.

Stood on the edge of the terrace, Connor had a look of pure fear in his eyes. He also had only one arm. The dense night seemed to have swallowed it whole and now had a taste for the rest of him. Willow's fingers tingled and she threw a worried glance at Giles as they raced over to Connor, pulling him back with all their might.

After a few moments, Connor's arm was free and the trio were sent flying backwards into a crumpled heap. Eyes wide, he turned to the others.

"What the hell is going on?"

Giles blinked rapidly as he tried to process the information, while Willow clambered to her feet.

"Dark magics."

She stalked along the edge of the light. It was like the darkness had created a wall right along the edge of the terrace, the light pouring out from inside ending in a strict line. Frowning, she slowly raised her hand. Connor jumped to his feet and was pulling her back in an instant.

"Willow, don't! You'll get pulled in!"

She smiled at him and shook her head.

"Trust me."

He felt the blush creeping up across his cheeks and finally let go of her arm, if only so he could turn away in embarrassment.

Willow stepped forward again, her right hand raised in front of her. Giles watched with an arched eyebrow as her hand began to glow slightly, creating a reflection that shimmered off the rippling wall in front of them. Slowly, Willow lowered her hand and turned back to the other two, an odd expression on her face. Connor stepped forward.

"Where are they? Buffy and Angel, are they behind this wall thing?"

Willow swallowed hard and caught Giles's eye. He immediately knew something was seriously wrong. Eventually, she turned back to Connor.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

His eyes wide, Connor shrugged.

"The good news, I guess."

"Well, there's two bits of good news. The first one is that just after Eve arrived I did some major mojo so that no-one else could just wander on in to the hotel. There's no point us all preparing to fight some major battle if we're going to just get picked off one by one in our own hideout. Anyway, that's why there's this wall. That's the edge of my protection."

She sighed heavily, taking a step closer to Connor.

"The second bit of good news is that I know where Angel and Buffy are."

Giles looked surprised.

"Where?"

Willow glanced at him then turned back to Connor, laying her hand on his forearm, her voice barely a whisper.

"That's the bad news. You see, this protection spell I did, it works right across the dimensions so that the Senior Partners couldn't just sneak through the astral back door. I think it's also become a kind of anchor, keeping us safe right here while Buffy and Angel… Connor, I know where they are because everything beyond this wall - the city, the people, everything - isn't here anymore. It's basically been absorbed by another dimension."

She turned her solemn gaze to Giles.

"The world's gone to Hell."


	17. Hell On Earth

Willow gathered the stinky herbs and ignored the worried gazes boring in to her back courtesy of the four men standing behind her. Eventually, she turned to face Giles, Spike, Xander and Connor, her hands on her hips as she attempted to look as defiant as possible.

"I'm sorry guys but I've got to do this."

Giles took a step forward.

"Willow, this could be extremely dangerous. With the strength of the black magics being used out there and the fact it's all a hell dimension…"

He tailed off, not wanting to voice his fears. She understood. Saying them out loud made them real. She simply smiled at him.

"It's Buffy and Angel, Giles. It doesn't matter if it's dangerous."

He simply nodded and stepped back, falling into place in the ranks of her worried audience.

Swallowing hard, she spread the herbs across the charm she had scrawled on the floor. Steadying herself, Willow started the incantations and felt her eyes close, pretending that the danger really didn't matter.

oooOOOooo

Buffy felt the familiar heat rise within her as she explored Angel, rediscovering the curves of his chest and the taste of his kiss. All those things she'd thought she would never experience again.

It took a while for her head to register the change. She wasn't sure what had happened but something wasn't quite right. Angel stiffened beside her and she knew he felt it too. Slowly, they pulled away from each other and looked around.

"Woah…"

The night sky above them had taken on a red hue, glowing ominously as their only light source while the pair surveyed the changes before them.

The hotel itself was gone, a dark shimmering wall in its place. There was something menacing about its presence and Buffy instantly knew there was some bad mojo going on. Her eyes sliced through the darkness, examining what used to be the garden area. It still was, but the plants were all dead and decaying.

Screams pierced the air, accompanied by distant growls and howls. Angel's eyes locked on to hers. Buffy pretended that the look in his eye was just confusion, not fear.

"What the hell just happened?"

Angel raised an eyebrow.

"I think Hell is the operative word here."

A strange whooshing sound above their heads made them look up. An enormous silhouette was passing through the red sky. Angel shook his head in disbelief.

"On the upside, may be I really get to slay a dragon after all."

Buffy glared at him.

"With what exactly?"

He frowned, now even more worried.

"Good point."

She just shook her head, not knowing what to say. A strange glow caught her eye and she turned to look at the black wall that ended the garden. An odd grey shape seemed to be passing through the barrier. Instinctively, Buffy was in a battle ready position, knowing without looking that Angel was doing the same.

The grey blob seemed to falter at the threshold but when it finally broke through, Buffy felt a gasp escape her lips.

"Willow?"

"Oh, hey guys. Good to see you're ok. We were worried."

Angel stepped forward, the shock obvious on his face.

"Willow, are you…?"

"What? Oh, no! This is astral Willow not ghost Willow. I'm still very much alive thank you very much. But I don't know for how much longer."

Buffy's eyes widened.

"Why? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm in a deep trance-like state, but that's not what I mean. Hell dimension instead of planet earth was more what I was going for there. Giles and the others are still doing some research but we have a problem."

Buffy folded her arms, an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"You mean like the entire human race suddenly running around like happy meals on legs for the big uglies?"

"I don' think it's the entire world yet, Buffy. I think it's centralised around here which is why my spells are protecting the hotel for now. I doubt this has spread outside of LA yet, but it's only a matter of time."

"Ok, so turn us into astral thingies and we'll come back in with you and come up with some kind of plan."

Willow, even in her now almost transparent form, seemed to pale slightly.

"But that's just it, Buffy. I can't do that. Your bodies would still be here and vulnerable to the hordes of evil gross slimy things that are probably headed right this way."

Angel's frown deepened.

"How do you know they're coming here?"

"Well, your big battle was in the alley round the corner right? For all those demons to be there, the Senior Partners had to create a rift from the Hell dimension. When Cordelia and The Powers That Be stopped the big fight, they didn't seal the rift. That's what's enabled the baddies to get in. I'm not quite sure how to get them out again yet though."

"Can't we just seal the rift?"

"Well, that would stop any more from getting through but it wouldn't get rid of the ones who've already made it. Not to mention the fact that LA is in the beginning stages of a transformation. Sealing the rift might slow that down but I seriously doubt if it would stop it all together."

Buffy started pacing up and down, trying not to look too much at Willow. The ghost-like image of her closest friend freaked her out.

"Ok, well we're decided that closing this rift is going to be a good thing even if it's not going to end all this. So, find a way to get us back inside the hotel and, like I said, we can come up with a plan. And get some weapons. I'm ready to kill something right about now."

Willow floated a little closer and Buffy couldn't help but back away a little.

"You can't get back in Buffy, neither of you can. The only way that would work would be if I dropped the protection spells but then the hotel would be sucked into this hell creation too. I want you to be safe, you know that, but this is the last hold we have on our own reality."

Angel nodded slowly.

"If the hotel falls, it'll just speed up the process. Plus, it puts everyone inside at risk, including my son. I'm not willing to do that. We're stuck here, Buffy."

Willow's grey form floated slightly above the ground, looking like she was about to cry.

"There is something I might be able to do. Weapons are inanimate objects so I might be able to magic them through. Any requests?"

Buffy shrugged.

"As much as you can give us would be great. Personally, something big and menacing would be right up my alley. Angel?"

"Broadsword. I want my broadsword. And a rocket launcher if you've still got any in stock."

Willow offered up a hopeful smile.

"I'll see what I can do. I'll also try and figure out what you need to close the rift."

Buffy nodded, feeling frustrated and useless but knowing that her friend was doing everything she could to help them.

"Thank you."

Willow automatically stepped forward, arms outstretched to hug her, before it suddenly dawned her that she couldn't. Slightly embarrassed, she floated back again.

"I'll do it as soon as I can."

Angel stepped close, seemingly unaffected by the strange appearance of the young witch. His eyes were sad.

"Could you tell Connor… Just tell him that I'm ok and I'm sorry he got involved in all this. He's made me proud."

She smiled at the vampire, seeing the hurt in his eyes and suddenly she realised he was trying to say goodbye. Willow's smile faded as she nodded at him.

"He's proud of you too, Angel. He's your son and he loves you."

She saw the thanks in his face and quickly disappeared back through the wall without another word, leaving Buffy and Angel just to watch her go, fear twisting their stomachs.

Buffy wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him close but she knew it provided little comfort. She looked up in to his eyes and sighed heavily.

"Feeling about as useful as a vat of humus right now?"

He smiled back at her, appreciating her effort at humour.

"Humus?"

"Well, it's not exactly useful is it? Or nice. I hate humus."

He couldn't help but laugh and Buffy felt herself perk up a little, hope coming back to her. She had Angel back. She had hope.

_Maybe that is all I need_.

A guttural growl sounded in the dark behind them and the pair spun to face it. Seeing the size of the demon in front of them, Buffy swallowed hard as she adopted her ready stance.

_Ok, maybe hope and a nuclear weapon…_

With a nod from Angel, Buffy went to work.

oooOOOooo

Giles was attempting to research the rift that had caused the arrival of the hell dimension in LA and how to close it. In reality, he was spending more time watching Willow's immobile form cross-legged on the floor in front of him, and casting worried glances at Illyira laid out on the couch. Spike was checking on her, Connor was pacing between the two, his face pale, while Xander was sat right in front of his old friend and staring right at her. Giles glanced to his left to find Oz deep in the pile of old books, making notes on a dusty legal pad by his side.

The old Watcher felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and he immediately knew something magic was going on. Rising from his seat at the counter, he stepped towards Willow just as Xander's eyes widened, his arms reaching out in time to catch her as she slumped forward. Giles rushed to her side as she slowly raised her head, staring around her.

"Am I back? Am I in my body?"

Xander nodded as he yanked her into a massive hug, relief obvious in his eyes.

"Yeah Will, you're back. How'd you feel?"

She smiled into his shoulder.

"A little woozy but I'll survive."

Willow's eyes locked with Giles and she nodded.

"Buffy's fine right now, Giles, but we've got to help them. It doesn't look good."

Willow clambered to her feet, still feeling a little unsteady. Xander propped her up as she stumbled over to the books strewn over the counter, sharing a reassuring look with Oz.

"I have to try and get them weapons, and tell them how to close the rift."

Connor stepped toward, obviously relieved that Willow was ok but still concerned for his father.

"But aren't we just going to get them back in here and come up with something like a plan?"

Willow sighed heavily, leaning on the counter in front of her as she cast her wide, sad eyes on him.

"If I stop the spells to let them in then the hotel will be unprotected."

Connor just shrugged, not understanding what the problem was.

"So? We'll be unprotected for a few minutes until they get back in, what's the big deal? We can defend ourselves."

Giles stepped forward, removing his glasses as he sighed.

"If the spells stop, there will be nothing left to counteract the black magic. The whole city would be gone and it will speed up the spread of evil. Soon, the whole of humanity would fall. I want to see them both safe, Connor, and I understand that it's your father out there, but do you think he really wants you to risk the whole world just for him?"

Connor's voice was small, betraying his young years.

"He would for me."

Willow smiled and hugged him, feeling him shaking slightly in her embrace.

"He's proud of you and he loves you. He's one of the biggest, baddest vampires in history and he's already survived a hell dimension, just like you. He'll be fine out there."

Connor looked up at her, his wide eyes hopeful.

"Really?"

She smiled back at him, praying that it was convincing as she attempted to ignore the ominous feeling of dread growing in her stomach.

"We'll all be fine."

oooOOOooo

Buffy was sent flying through the air, crashing through the gates at the end of what used to be the hotel garden. Jumping back to her feet in the dark alley, she ignored the pain in her left shoulder as she marched forward, to where Angel was ducking and weaving the enormous fists of the eight foot demon in front of him.

Something caught her eye and Buffy paused, looking left and right down the alleyway. Hordes of demons of all shapes and sizes were stalking towards where she was standing. Adrenaline pumping, Buffy swallowed hard and charged forward towards the first evil she had to defeat.

Ducking below the swift punch he swung at her, Buffy extended her leg and swept it round, knocking the demon off balance and giving Angel the chance to pummel its face. Moving round behind it, the Slayer yanked at the demon's arm, twisting it up behind its enormous back and feeling the bones cracking under her fingers.

Angel delivered a swift roundhouse kick to the dark green head and, while it was recovering, Buffy shoved it forwards into the shimmering black wall beside them.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. The demon seemed to just stand there confused with a thin film of the oily substance swirling across his body. Suddenly, the wall began to quiver and the demon looked worried before his body began to shake and convulse. A guttural growl escaped its numerous mouths as red sparks flew from the barrier and the demon just faded away.

Angel turned to Buffy, his vampire features morphing back in to the handsome face she had always loved.

"Ok, so let's not touch the wall…"

He frowned and stepped forward, tentatively reaching out to examine her shoulder. Looking down, Buffy realised that her top was soaked with blood. She turned her eyes back to him, seeing the love and concern in his gaze.

"This is the least of our problems right now."

Angel froze, his eyes scouting the darkness and she knew he realised exactly what she meant. Looking up, the pair of them could see the silhouettes of creatures clambering over the wall and hear them swarming down the alley. His eyes turned back to the love of his life.

"This is it. They're coming."


	18. The Former God

Connor was pacing up and down on the terrace. Although he could not see past the barrier, he could hear the sounds of fighting accompanied by other worldly howls. He shivered inadvertently as he imagined what his father was going through.

He reached out to the wall, his hand hovering barely inches away but already feeling the pull of the darkness on the other side. He wanted it to take him, he wanted it to let him help his father.

He pulled his hand back and swallowed hard. Somehow he would get there. He had to.

Illyria's eyes fluttered open and she stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to remember where she was and what had happened. A slight pain in her stomach reminded her.

Slowly, she sat up and found Spike was at her side, watching her with mild concern.

"How you feeling, pet?"

She cocked her head to one side as she considered the question.

"Someone performed magic on the shell. I was wounded."

Spike nodded.

"Yeah, Red fixed you up with a bit of hocus pocus. Eve stabbed you."

"It will not happen again."

He laughed.

"You're right about that, love. I got the girl tied up in the office. She's not giving us much in the way of info I'm afraid. But I have to admit, she's pretty good with the insults."

Illyria got to her feet, her eyes scanning the full length of her body as she stretched and twisted her muscles. Confident that she was fully functional, she marched over to the counter where the main group were huddled over, discussing plans.

Willow glanced up at her and beamed.

"Hey, you're ok!"

Illyria gave her a curt nod.

"You performed the magics that fixed me."

She paused, her head tilting, before she felt unfamiliar words in her mouth.

"Thank you."

Willow looked slightly taken aback but smiled.

"You're welcome. If you feel up to it, we're trying to figure out how to help Buffy and Angel. And, you know, stop the whole End of Days thing."

Illyria stepped forward, quickly scanning the notes laid out on the counter. Although she still considered herself superior to these lower beings, she found herself wishing Wesley was there to advise her, to tell her how and who to fight. Ignoring the thoughts, she looked Giles straight in the eye.

"Where are Angel and Buffy? Are they in peril?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yes I suppose peril would be one word to use. They are stuck on the other side of the protection spells where everything is becoming a hell dimension."

Illyria felt a strange flutter in her chest. If the Ancients were returning, perhaps she could once again walk the face of the earth as a God. For some reason, she quickly realised that the idea did not appeal to her as much as in the past. Perhaps the shell had affected her. It was certainly part of the reason as to why she felt such pain for Wesley and concern for Angel's safety. She nodded, ideas of how to help forming in her mind.

"There must be a rift to allow the demons to enter here. I am sure The Powers That Be are battling its effects on the higher planes but we must seal the one that is here."

Xander raised an eyebrow at the creepy yet bizarrely attractive blue woman in front of him.

"Any suggestions as to how?"

Illyria stayed silence and Xander turned back to the group.

"Guess that's a no then."

Illyria didn't hear the chattering between the others as she mulled the facts, creating and rejecting various hypothesises. Eventually, she turned to Willow, unaware that she was cutting the witch off mid-conversation with Oz.

"You can not lower the protection, it is helping to bind the actual reality to the planet and people."

Willow blinked rapidly and then nodded, casting a confused glance in the direction of the others.

"Yeah, we know that."

"But you conjured the protection. You are the one who can alter its existence."

The others exchanged confused looks as Willow frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You can allow beings to leave but not enter. This would serve to help me fight and reduce the drain of power the magic is upon you."

Willow looked slightly indignant.

"It's not a drain, I'm fine."

Illyria cocked her head to one side.

"You are not. Your spells will last no longer than an hour. They will take your life force."

Willow's cheeks flushed as everyone stared at her in disbelief. Xander stepped forward.

"Will, is that true? Is this going to kill you?"

She looked like a deer in the headlights as she answered.

"I'll be fine, Xander."

He did not look convinced and she turned her eyes to Giles who looked back at her, a mixture of concern and anger on his face.

"I'm sorry but I had to. It was the only way."

Xander pointed in Illyria's general direction as his good eye bored in to his oldest friend.

"So do what she says, make it easier on yourself."

Willow looked back at the former God.

"What are you thinking?"

"That you are all foolish lower beings ruled by your pointless emotions."

Spike chuckled to himself.

"She meant what's your plan, but fair point."

Illyria nodded.

"You change the structure of the spell. It will not allow others to enter but it will allow me to leave and you will last longer."

Everyone stared at her. Xander's eyebrows looked like they were about to shoot through the roof.

"That's it? _That's_ your plan?"

"Yes."

"You're just gonna go out there and fight an army and seal a rift you have no idea how to close and save the world. All on your own."

"I was once a god."

Oz cleared his throat.

"_Once_ a god. Not now. You already got stabbed by a regular girl."

Illyria glared at him and he just shrugged, returning to the book he had been reading. Giles removed his glasses and started to polish his glasses, a far away look on his face.

"If Illyria goes outside, she can take weapons and our ideas for closing the rift with her. Surely, any help for Buffy and Angel would be useful."

Willow nodded.

"Ok, I'll start work on altering the spell but you've got to find a way to close it. Xander, get some weapons together from downstairs. There should be some in the basement."

The group dispersed, leaving Spike staring at Illyria in the middle of the lobby. After a few moments, he spoke up.

"Why are you doing this, pet? If the Ancients come back, you've got a chance of being a god again."

She turned her powerful eyes on him.

"The shell informs me of things I did not know. She is why I mourn Wesley. She is why I now feel concern for the well being of these mortals and of Angel."

Spike's gaze was drawn in the direction of the destroyed rooms upstairs. He nodded himself.

"Fred's drawings… Angel was her knight in shining armour."

Illyria looked slightly puzzled by the phrase but nodded. Spike just shook his head in disbelief as he walked away.

"How does that boring broody old lump always get the girls?"


	19. The Charge of the Cavalry

Xander and Oz silently packed the large holdall with numerous weapons, watched over by Illyria who seemed deep in thought. Spike wandered back up to the lobby, swinging a large axe around his head dramatically.

Fully prepared, the gang escorted Illyria out to the terrace where Connor was pacing. Seeing the group, he frowned.

"What's going on?"

Willow smiled as she stepped forward.

"I'm going to try and adapt the spell so that Illyria can go out to help your dad and Buffy."

"Just Illyria?"

Spike snatched the bag out of her hand.

"Nope. I'm gonna be watching Big Blue's back. After all, someone's got to save Angel's ass and it'll piss him off royally if it's me. I can't miss that look on his face."

Willow looked slightly perturbed but nodded, knowing there was no point arguing with him. Suddenly, both Oz and Xander stepped forward too. Willow's eyes widened.

"You two want to go?"

Oz shrugged.

"I'm a werewolf. Might be able to help."

Xander held up a sword almost as big as him.

"I just want to be all big and manly."

"And dead?"

Xander blushed slightly.

"Well, I'm kind of hoping to avoid that part."

Connor moved toward the barrier, a look of determination on his face.

"Then I'm going too."

Giles laid a fatherly hand on the boy's shoulder.

"No, you're not. If you're there, Angel will be distracted by having to protect you. That's not going to help anyone. You can stay here and help me with the research. Plus, the spells probably won't last too much longer."

The former Watcher threw a worried glance at Willow before continuing.

"I need you to stay here and help protect the hotel when the barriers fall."

Connor opened his mouth to protest when Willow raised her hand to silence him.

"Please Connor, don't put your dad in danger. With all these guys, he'll be fine. He's a fighter."

Obviously angry, he backed off and Willow smiled at him. Turning back to the barrier in front of her, she raised her hands and started chanting. The wall began to quiver and flashed a deep purple before restoring to its former self.

Willow nodded and the others formed a line in front of the wall. Preparing themselves, they stepped forward together. Connor watched them get swallowed by the barrier and his jaw tightened. A second later, he dived through.

Giles jumped toward the young lad but he was too late, skidding to a hasty stop to prevent himself being sucked through as well. He turned to Willow with a frown. She just shrugged.

"Like father, like son."

Buffy and Angel were fighting hard, their backs to one another as the demons kept coming. They seemed to be hunting the pair in packs, always a few hanging back to jump in whenever either Champion looked at all vulnerable.

A strange noise distracted a few of the more distant demons but both Buffy and Angel ignored it and kept on fighting, delivering blow after blow and receiving almost as many themselves.

A yell behind them drew Angel's gaze. Spike's bleached blonde form was head-butting one of the larger demons. It didn't seem to help and the vampire staggered backwards, cursing and rubbing his forehead.

"Angel!"

He looked up in time to see Oz throwing him a broadsword. In one swift movement, he jumped over the incoming kick from a grey leathery beast, catching the sword mid air and immediately swinging it round to decapitate his attacker.

Buffy was also now armed and doing serious damage to the group surrounding her, the axe she was waving glinting in the red light. Another yelp sounded behind them and Angel turned just in time to see his son's blurring shape flying out of the barrier and barrelling into a demon that was attempting to attack Buffy from behind. Now out cold, Connor grabbed Illyria's sword and finished it off.

Within minutes of the others' arrival, the demons began to back off and soon had retreated back down the alley. Angel marched over to his son.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Connor pulled himself up to his full height, looking indignant.

"Saving your ass, that's what. I wasn't about to let you get killed. Well, not this time anyway."

Angel just shook his head and pulled the lad in to a tight embrace. Spike rolled his eyes.

"Never mind the rest of us coming to your rescue."

Buffy strolled over with a grin.

"Aww, Spikey need a huggy wuggy too?"

He glared at her and wandered towards the gates as he lit a cigarette. Buffy laughed and turned to the others with a smile.

"Thanks for the help. And the weapons. We're going to need them."

She turned to Xander and Oz, a worried look in her eye.

"Maybe you two should head back now though. You know, keep an eye on Willow."

Xander shook his head emphatically.

"No can do Buffster. You're stuck with us. That wall's a one-way street."

Oz nodded in agreement.

"Plus, you know, werewolf. Big tick in the 'do serious damage' column."

He grinned but Buffy just frowned.

"I know you've learnt to control your powers now Oz but wouldn't you as a werewolf be as much a threat to us as the big baddies?"

He shook his head.

"When I was training in Thailand, I learnt a few tricks, the best one being a safety word."

Xander grinned.

"Oh, bit of whip and chain action going on in the monasteries is there?"

Oz ignored him.

"Basically, you shout that word if I come anywhere near any of you and it'll pull me straight back out to regular Oz."

Buffy looked impressed, grinning at him as Angel and Connor wandered back over.

"So what's the word?"

Xander was surprised to see embarrassment on Oz's face. Oz was the cool one. He never got embarrassed.

"Willow. Just tell me Willow."

Buffy just nodded, understanding how the guy felt, and couldn't help but steal a glance at Angel. A loud rumbling pulled her back to reality.

"What's that?"

The group looked around, confused. Suddenly, the barrier behind them began to shimmer slightly, thinning out to reveal the hazy hotel behind. It faded more and more until it suddenly restored itself, though it had moved to just in front of the back door, leaving the terrace outside of its protection. Buffy felt a hint of panic creeping up her spine.

"What's going on? What's with the spell?"

Illyria looked up from the weapons she was handing out.

"The flame-haired witch is failing. Soon she will fall. And so shall we all."

"Willow is dying?"

Xander looked terrified and Oz averted his eyes. Even Connor looked upset. Buffy was just relieved when she felt Angel move to her side. That way if she collapsed at least someone would catch her.

Illyria did not seem to notice the effect her last comment had created in the group as she grabbed an axe and a longsword, marching towards the gates where Spike was standing. Angel stepped forward.

"And where are you going?"

She stopped, seemingly irritated that she needed to explain herself.

"I can find the rift."

Spike appeared suspicious.

"Ok Nancy Drew, just how can you do that?"

"The power that emanates from the rift is linked to the Ancient Ones. There is a connection there which I can still feel despite the curse of a mortal shell."

Buffy stepped up beside Angel, the rest of the group flanking the pair.

"So, where is it then?"

Illyria's head cocked to one side as she moved forward slowly, pausing just beyond the gates to stare down the alley and face where the original battle raged. She watched the swarms of demons now beginning to fight amongst themselves. After a few seconds, she turned back to the others and pointed back down the alley. They moved forward and saw where she was indicating. Angel nodded to himself, trying to blink back the image of Gunn and Connor's lifeless forms as they laid in that exact same alley.

"Right in the middle of them, the belly of the beast."

Buffy started rifling through the weapons, obviously grumpy as she prepared to fight.

"Why is it always alleyways and deserted warehouses? Once, just once, I want to fight an apocalypse in Hawaii."

She spun an axe in her hand and locked eyes with Angel.

"So, let's go teach these boys a lesson."

Willow tried to control her laboured breaths. Adapting the spell to allow the others through had been hard work, especially when Connor made a last minute dash. She was beginning to feel more and more drained. She wasn't sure how long she could carry on with the spell.

Giles wandered out of the office, his nose buried in a dusty old book. Willow attempted to look as casual and collected as she could, aware he would probably see straight through it anyway.

He glanced up at her and smiled, though he was obviously distracted.

"Ah Willow, yes. I have found mentions of these types of rift in numerous texts. These are the typical cause of the numerous hell dimensions in existence. The demons use them to increase their numbers and spread to other worlds."

"So how do we close them?"

"Well, that area is unfortunately vague. The only reference I have found so far is that we need a weapon capable of emitting the power of the sun."

"You mean, like a nuclear weapon?"

Giles arched an eyebrow as he considered the suggestion.

"I suppose so, yes. Although I doubt Angel has any of those hidden in his arsenal downstairs."

Willow shrugged.

"Maybe I could magic something similar or - "

Giles cut her off.

"Don't even think about it. The magic you're conducting right now is strong enough, Willow, and don't try and pretend it's not hurting you. I can see it. So don't you dare even consider trying something else."

Willow jumped off the stool, about to protest, but her legs gave way and vision began to blur. She felt Giles catch her and lower her to the ground as the pull of the evil outside nearly took control. Fighting it with everything she had left, she managed to restore the barrier but she knew that she'd lost ground. Exhausted, she let her eyes drift closed as one word escaped her lips.

"Tara…"

oooOOOooo

The group passed out weapons and tried to come up with a plan. Xander did his best not to look too nervous, despite his increasing need to vomit from nerves. Swallowing hard, he looked up at the others.

"So what's the plan? Charging forward together or splitting up and attacking on two fronts?"

Buffy slid daggers into either side of her belt as she spun an axe in her hand.

"Personally, I'm going for might in numbers."

Oz shrugged,

"Might makes right."

Behind them, the barrier rumbled and shifted back again. Buffy felt her stomach drop. Willow was getting worse. Angel could see the concern in her eyes and slung an arm round her shoulders, briefly pulling her close in a gesture of support and understanding. As Connor passed his father his broadsword, Angel nodded.

"I think it's time to go."

Immediately, Illyria marched straight towards the roaring crowds ahead, ending any further discussion. She quickly dismissed with the giant spider-like creature that jumped down from the wall above, snapping its neck in one swift movement. Xander shuddered slightly and grabbed his own weapon. Grinning at the others, he swung it in front of him.

"All for one and one for all."

Together, the gang charged towards their final battle.

oooOOOooo

Inside the hotel, Eve was struggling in her bonds. Still angry, she was determined to get her revenge on Angel. Slowly, she managed to wriggle her hands free from the rope and untied her ankles.

Sneaking across the room on tip toe, she peaked through the office window and could see the older Englishman leaning over the red head witch bitch that had stopped her taking her vengeance.

Grabbing a large book off the sideboard, Eve slowly eased the door open and manoeuvred behind them. Hearing something, the man began to turn and Eve swung the book as hard and fast as she could at his head. She connected with his right temple, watching him slump over the woman's body.

Swallowing back the tiny bit of guilt she felt, Eve grabbed a sword off the counter and silently began to scout the lobby, searching for Angel. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear the sounds of fighting. Moving towards the back door, she strained her eyes searching for him. It was so dark out that she couldn't see anything.

She pressed her face up against the glass in the door, trying to see what was going on outside. The yells and thuds of a big fight were louder now and she knew the others must be nearby.

Holding the sword out in front of her, she pushed the door open and stepped out in to the night. Immediately, she felt her skin crawl and her whole body became cold. Confused, she tried to back away but the darkness was pulling at her from all directions. Eventually, she broke through in to what she assumed used to be some kind of garden.

Looking around, her apprehension began to grow. The sky above her was a deep red that glowed down on the city, giving the whole area an otherworldly feel. Somewhere on the other side of the crumbling brick wall, she could hear conversation and immediately recognised the sound of Angel's voice.

As quietly as she could, Eve moved forward, not noticing the demon stirring in the shadows. Before she ever had time to react, Eve felt herself being yanked backwards. Suddenly, she was back in the cold darkness but this time it was different. Her skin felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand red hot needles as she was pulled in all directions.

She cursed Angel as she closed her eyes, hoping that she would soon be able to see her beloved Lindsey. Within seconds, she got her answer as her body disappeared in to the darkness.


	20. The End Of Days

The bulk of the demons seemed to be milling around the wider section of the alleyway, most of them fighting amongst themselves. They didn't appear to notice the group marching towards them.

Getting closer, the gang managed to get a better understanding of just what was happening to the city as it changed.

The walls around them had largely crumbled, huge piles of rubble littering the area, most with various blood-soaked human appendages poking out. In the place of the walls, enormous honeycomb structures had sprung up, seemingly growing right out of the ground.

Each section of these greyish-blue monstrosities housed hatching demons, their enormous jaws reminding Xander of the Alien movies. The ground beneath their feet was cracking open and spewing some kind of sulphurous gas, illuminated green in the enormous flashes of lightning that snapped across the crimson sky.

Buffy quickly saw it wasn't regular lightning though when one bolt hit the ground only a few feet ahead of her, ripping open the concrete and freeing a bulky demon that began to clamber out.

Charging at it while it was still half underground, the Slayer had to hack at it four times before she finally managed to remove its hideous head. The demon's blood-curdling final yell got the others attention.

Suddenly, the in-fighting had ended at the approach of a common enemy. Taking in a few final glances at this new world, the group charged forward.

Buffy spun two axes masterfully as she took on the closest on her left, noticing that Angel had leapt over an approaching attacker to bury his sword in the chest of another. She turned her attention back to the battle at hand, well aware that she would always be able to instinctively feel where Angel was and how he was doing.

Swinging one axe through the air to her left, Buffy connected with the head of a small demon dripping goo everywhere. Feinting right, the Slayer landed a solid uppercut on what she hoped was the jaw of the bulky being in front of her before spinning out of the way of a spear that embedded itself in a Kaoc demon behind her.

Concentrating on moving through the crowd to attempt to find the rift and some way of closing it, only one thing kept racing through Buffy's mind.

_Please let the prophecies be wrong. Don't take him away from me again. Let the prophecies be wrong._

oooOOOooo

Angel grabbed a fellow vampire in a headlock, using his weight to push the guy backwards and break its neck. He used the momentum to launch a swift roundhouse kick at the spiney creature on his right while his sword removed the vampire's head, ploughing through the dust to embed it in the stomach of spiney's mate. Ducking below a flurry of enraged blows, Angel manoeuvred behind them and used both his swords to take them out.

Gaining a moment to breath, he instinctively looked around, searching for both his son and his girl. He immediately spotted Buffy when he saw her blonde hair flipping through the air to avoid a spear. Barrelling forward to remove a distinctly round demon from his path, Angel felt the panic begin to rise at no sight of his son.

After a few more agonising minutes, he finally caught sight of Connor. He was happily pummelling something that didn't even seem to have a face, using its own axe to finish it off.

Content that his son could take care of himself for the time being at least, Angel returned to the job at hand, carefully dodging Oz in werewolf guise. Even so, as the battle raged, he couldn't help but keep throwing worried glances in Connor's direction.

_Even if I have to die, please let my boy live. And don't let Buffy fall. Please let them survive. Let them live._

oooOOOooo

Xander had never been much of a fighter. Although his life as a Slayer sidekick had forced him to macho up on occasion, he was painfully aware that he was the only one engaged in the current ruckus without a single superpower. That and his depth perception had suffered a little since losing his eye.

Still, he was holding his own if only for the time being. He hung back from the main group, only really fighting the fringe elements of the demonic crowd. He was brave but he wasn't stupid.

He watched the others dispatch the demons around them in relatively short order and couldn't help but feel a little jealous, just like he had a hundred times before.

Swinging his axe through the air, he dived out of the way of the fire a surprisingly small demon was exhaling at him. Feigning left, Xander darted right and jabbed his sword through the creature's throat. He quickly pulled it back and moved away as the monster seemed to lose control of its fire breathing ability, cremating six of his fellow demons as he died.

Smiling to himself, Xander brushed off his shirt and headed back towards the battle, attempting to push his fears for Willow to the back of his mind and failing miserably.

_Please, let Willow be ok. And me. I'd rather get through this with both eyes if you don't mind. But don't let Willow die. I can't live without her. She's my Willow._

oooOOOooo

Oz felt the snap inside of him that signalled the change was coming. At first, it was always a little painful as his bones and musculature shifted and adapted to his werewolf form. Often times, he had found himself considering it to be his true form.

As the transformation took over, Oz felt the sudden surge of adrenaline pumping through his veins. He never felt more alive than when he let the beast escape its human cage.

Sometimes he set up a safe space at home and just let himself roam around it as the wolf, fully aware that he could switch back whenever he wanted. He had spent hours contemplating the way he really wanted to live. In his heart of hearts, he knew the wolf would always have to stay buried if he wanted to survive in this world but it was the times that he finally let it out, let it consume him, that he was truly living.

Not that these were thoughts that crossed his mind as he charged into the crowd, the wolf finally free. Now it was all about the kill. He had to save his Willow.

_Come on Willow, you're a fighter. Fight it. Stay with us. Stay with me._

oooOOOooo

Spike felt the blow before he ever saw it. Hitting the ground hard, he swung his legs round in a windmill motion, knocking down the two demons closest to him and snatching his sword back from one of them. Delivering swift killing blows to each, he sensed the movement behind him and immediately spun the blade towards it.

He stopped himself just in time to allow the wolf to pass. He wasn't one hundred percent sure it was Oz but he wasn't about to risk it. Buffy would kill him and Willow would probably turn him in to a rat. He wasn't stupid enough to give the witch any excuse.

The thought of Buffy made him instinctively look for her. He slammed his fist into the approaching heads of an even more ugly than usual demon to get a better look ahead of him. He soon saw her spinning round to take out three guys double her size in one swift movement.

_That's my girl._

He chastisted himself for the thought. She wasn't his girl, she never really had been. Angel was all she had ever wanted and no one else was ever really going to be good enough. He'd gone out, got himself a soul and protected her when the brood boy skipped town and still he wasn't good enough.

The anger and frustration rising within him, Spike launched himself at the coming hordes, burying his sword deep into the stomach of an Ood before swinging it back up to decapitate two approaching vampires.

Stomping through the dust cloud left behind, Spike realised something he had not dare to admit before. Without Buffy, nothing mattered that much anymore. He had died for her before.

_And I'll do it again. I'd die for her a hundred times over. Just for her._

oooOOOooo

A deep rumbling sound echoed through the alleyway and the ground began to shake violently. The demons surged backwards, towards the noise. Confused, Buffy stood still with her fists raised as she tried to figure out what was going on.

Angel, Spike and Connor were quickly at her side, the three of them forming a small wall facing the huddle ahead of them. Slowly, Xander sauntered over having offered his jacket to the now human Oz in an effort to save his modesty since his transformation back to human form had left him stark naked.

The group watched as an enormous column of thick black smoke began to surge upwards from the centre of the demon hordes. The evil group immediately fell to their knees as the smoke formed a column reaching up in to the air at least fifty feet and then spreading out, reminding Buffy of photographs of the mushroom clouds that followed nuclear explosions.

Wondering where the smoke was coming from, the Slayer ignored the curious looks from the others and jogged over to the nearest pile of rubble on their left. Clambering up, she looked down over the bowed heads and other appendages of the demon below. Angel quickly appeared by her side and followed her gaze.

"I guess we know where the rift is then."

In the very centre of the crowd, an enormous tear had ripped through the concrete in the ground, revealing a gaping hole that seemed to stretch down forever. An eerie flickering glow emanated from below, implying there was some kind of enormous fire raging underneath. Buffy couldn't help but wonder if it was the fires of Hell.

The whole area around the hole seemed to ripple and undulate. Buffy wasn't sure if this was from the heat of the possible fire or due to the shift in realities. This was where the black smoke was reaching up from and in to the red sky above.

Buffy nodded slowly, her grip on her sword tightening to reveal white knuckles echoing the tightening of the muscles in Angel's jaw. The pair of them clambered back down to join the group, and were soon joined by Illyria. Buffy cleared her throat.

"The rift is right in the middle of the demons."

Xander craned his neck to get a better look as Spike frowned.

"And what's that smoke?"

The group all looked up in unison, watching the dense blackness swirling like an oversized typhoon above them. Illyria looked back to the others, her face registering no emotion as she spoke.

"That is one of the Senior Partners."

Illyria grabbed Angel's arm, pulling him a short distance away from the group, as Oz looked to Buffy.

"So Slayer, how do we close the rift?"

She opened her mouth to reply but it just hung open. She had no idea. Snapping her mouth shut again, she swallowed hard as she watched Connor's eyes widen.

"You don't have a clue, do you?"

"Well, I can think of numerous ways _not_ to close it. Like humus for example…"

Her voice trailed off. No one looked at all amused. Buffy looked over at Angel. He seemed to be a little shocked at whatever Illyria was saying to him but after a while he nodded and trudged back towards the gang, the former god in tow.

Buffy opened her mouth to ask what was going on when the demon hordes suddenly began to chant in unison. The group instinctively backed away, watching in a mixture of fear and awe as the enormous column of smoke seemed to start to solidify. Xander swallowed hard.

"Ok, I'm guessing that's not good."

Illyria moved away from them, crossing the alley to the beheaded corpse of one of the demons. She roughly turned it over, yanking the long black cloak from its lifeless body. Looking around the bowed heads in front of her, Buffy realised that a lot of the demons seemed to be wearing the same type of cloak. Totally confused, she watched as Illyria slipped amongst the monsters, weaving through the crowd to get closer to the rift before eventually dropping to her knees right at the front.

Spike's eyes widened.

"Hey, I know big blue used to be keen on the dark side, but shouldn't she be sticking with the white hats about now?"

Angel glared at his fellow vampire and marched off to the right, retrieving his own cloak before returning to the group.

"She's not changing sides, you idiot, she's just going… incognito."

He turned to face his son, laying a hand on his shoulder, his eyes full of love and concern.

"Go back, Connor. I know you're going to kick up a fuss and all of that but please, as your father, I'm begging you. Just get out of here. There's nothing left to do here."

He looked up at the others, his hand still gripping Connor's shoulder.

"Please, that goes for all of you. Just go."

Nobody moved. Angel sighed heavily, his eyes full of desperation as he turned his eyes on Buffy.

"Please?"

Still, none of them moved a single inch. Shaking his head in defeat, Angel swallowed hard.

"Fine, then just stay back. I mean it, just stick to the guys on the edge of this. I have a plan. Well, _she_ has a plan…"

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of Illyria.

"It's going to work, but only if you lot stay out of the way. Please stay back. If you don't, you'll die."

He directed his last couple of sentences at both Connor and Buffy. He just prayed they would believe him. Looking around the group, all he saw was a bunch of confused and suspicious faces.

Sighing heavily, Angel slung the cloak on and followed in Illyria's footsteps. Spike's angry eyes trailed him for a moment before returning to Buffy.

"Well, pet, do you have any idea what's going on right now?"

She shrugged.

"They have a plan."

"And do you know what it is?"

"No idea."

"Well, that's just great."

Spike folded his arms in a huff and Buffy had to admit that she wasn't too happy either. Why didn't Angel trust her? She could help him, why couldn't he see that? She took a step toward the masses in front of her, trying to spot Angel but not sure what to do.

An explosion of bright white light behind them made her jump. The group turned around to see a stream of sparkling white pouring through the sky and in to the solidifying smoke. The absorption of the light seemed to speed up whatever process it was undergoing. Buffy felt her stomach lurch and tears prick her eyes.

Oz spoke, his voice flat but his eyes full of emotion.

"The hotel's fallen. Willow…"

Buffy felt torn. She wanted to stay here and fight alongside Angel. Maybe together they had a tiny shot at defeating the Senior Partner and closing the rift, but alone she knew the prophecy would come true and Angel would die. Even so, if the hotel had fallen then it meant Willow was probably…

She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought. Swallowing hard, she tried to reach a decision.

_I want to help Willow but if she really is dead, there's nothing I can do. I want to go, I want to be there for her, but if I leave here and I don't fight, the rest of the world will die. Angel will die. But I want to help Willow._

Buffy turned back to the group, her mind made up.

"Oz, Xander. Get back to the hotel as fast as you can. If the protection spells really have fallen then Willow and Giles are going to need all the help they can get defending themselves."

Both men looked relieved, obviously glad they might be able to help Willow and check that she was ok. Buffy wished she could go with them as she turned to Angel's son.

"I need you to go back with them, Connor. I don't know what your dad's planning but he obviously wants you to be as far away as possible when he does whatever it is he needs to do."

Connor shook his head defiantly.

"No way. He's my father. I'm not going anywhere."

Buffy wanted to argue with him but she saw her own love for Angel reflected in the boy's eyes and knew he was doing the exact same thing that she was. Spike stepped forward, a cigarette hanging out the corner of his mouth, dangling precariously as he spoke.

"I'm not going anywhere either, Buff, so I'll keep an eye on the lad. If you want, we can try and keep the main bulk of these guys focused on us. That way, you can get to Angel and Illyria and do your thing."

Connor looked like he was about to protest but Spike silenced him with a glare.

"You've already died once in this alley, mate, and Cordy ain't around to save your arse this time. And trust me, I'd rather die than attempt to give the kiss of life to a bloke."

The lad seemed to relent. He was still fighting to protect his father. That was enough.

Suddenly, the bowing hordes rose with an almighty yell. The smoke above them was forming into what was now discernable as an enormous figure in a giant cloak though the face of the creature was just a mass of swirling smoke, now moving faster and faster. The demons below were now all facing the trio.

Spike and Connor flanked Buffy on either side, all three of them prepared to fight with their weapons drawn. This was it, this was the final stand. As the hordes charged towards them, Buffy glanced at each of her fellow fighters with a grim smile.

"Stay safe. If you don't, I'll kill you myself."

With that, she raised her sword and charged forward, ready to meet her destiny.


	21. Their Final Stand

Angel had a hard time tracking Illyria through the crowds of demons bowing at the rift that lay at the feet of the Senior Partner. Once they all rose to renew the fighting, it became even harder.

The cloak he had stolen off one of the bodies seemed to offer up some protection from the demon hordes, his vampire face obviously convincing them he was one of them. He let them charge past him as long as he could to try and spot Illyria but eventually he knew he had to turn around to avoid suspicion falling on him.

It was too late.

Another vampire ripped the hood away from Angel's face and punched him squarely in the jaw. Staggering backwards, he raised his arms up in front of him to protect himself from the flurry of blows which followed.

Sensing someone moving behind him, Angel ducked and watched the demons sword disappear in to the vampires gut. It didn't kill him but Angel's swift slice of his own blade did the job.

Spinning round to dispatch the demon behind him, his heart fell when he saw Buffy barrelling through the crowds, sending her enemies flying in all directions. Boy, when that girl got going…

Worried for Buffy's safety, Angel spun on his heel and renewed his efforts to find Illyria. He needed to know the full details of the plan he only knew the bare bones of. If he didn't, he wouldn't have a hope in hell of saving Buffy from whatever was coming.

Charging forward, his sword swinging round ahead of him, Angel managed to break through the ranks. Many of the demons seemed distracted by the ruckus going on somewhere behind him and the cloak was obviously still fooling most of them.

Eventually, Angel caught sight of a flash of blue up ahead. Speeding past as many demons as he could as he replaced the hood of his cloak, he charged up behind her and grabbed her arm, spinning her round to face him.

She was stood higher up than him, perched on the rubble surrounding the vast hole. His sudden movement nearly sent her tumbling backwards in to the abyss. His quick reactions pulled her back, her body landing heavily on top of him and knocking the air out of him.

Groaning, he looked up into her angry eyes as she got back to her feet.

"There's no point getting pissed at me. I need to know what you're planning, Illyria, or I can't help."

Angel practically had to yell over the powerful whooshing sound emanating from the column of black smoke above and the roar of the fires below. She continued glaring at him for a moment, hands on hips. Eventually, she sighed, realising that he was never going to let her leave without explaining.

"I was once an Ancient. I alone can close the wound."

Angel stared at her, obviously not understanding. She stepped closer to him.

"You once had to stop my true form from destroying this mortal shell and the world that held it. You made me weaker."

She seemed angry as she said this but the moment quickly passed and she continued her explanation.

"You may have removed some of my strength but I am still a god, even within this frail body. It takes the power of the sun to close a rift between the dimensions. My life force will suffice."

Angel's eyes widened as he finally grasped the magnitude of what she was telling him.

"No, I can't let you do that! You can't sacrifice yourself for this."

Illyria cocked her head to one side, her eyes examining his face, a look of mild amusement on her face.

"You still see Winifred Burkle in this form. She has been gone for months. You can not save your Fred, just as Wesley could not."

Her expression softened at the familiar name. Angel stepped forward and grabbed her arms, acutely aware that demons were beginning to notice them.

"You can't do this, I won't let you. We'll find another way."

Illyria shook herself free from him and backed up towards the rift.

"No, you will not. There is little time. The light has gone which means your witch is gone. You do not get the sun. You get me."

Speechless, Angel knew she was right. And he also knew he was mainly attempting to stop her only because he still saw Fred in those eyes, in those movements.

The attack from the demons behind them halted any further discussion. Illyria immediately threw two deep in to the rift, their bodies exploding in flames that soared upwards into the smoke.

Angel fought back another four as Illyria clambered back up the debris surrounding the tear in the ground. He felt the blade pierce his side before he ever saw his attacker.

Sinking to his knees, Angel felt the death blow approaching.

But it never came.

Looking up, he was shocked to find Connor fighting back the demons around them. Illyria too had returned from her perch to protect him and Angel was touched by the surprising gesture. The demons around them seemed to back off a little and Illyria turned to him, her face grave.

"You must leave. You all must. Anything near the rift will be swallowed back in to the Hell dimension from whence they came. Even beyond that, a light will spread, killing all in its path. You must leave."

He nodded his understanding and thanks as he pulled the sword out of his side with a groan. She nodded back and clambered back up the rubble. Connor just stared at his father with wide eyes.

"Are you ok?"

Angel clapped a fatherly hand on his shoulder and pretended it wasn't just to hold himself up, offering a pained smile to his son.

"Thanks to you I am."

He swallowed hard as he stood up straight, handing the sword he'd just removed to Connor. Together they faced the armies ahead. Angel cast a glance in his son's direction.

"Did you hear what Illyria said?"

Connor just nodded, never taking his eyes off the demons as they warily approached.

"Then you know I need you to get out of here. What she's about to do… It'll be like a nuke has hit us. You've got to run, run away from here as fast as you can. We'll meet back at the hotel."

The demons were nearly on them. Connor couldn't help but stare at his father, fear in his voice.

"And while I'm running, where will you be?"

"Right behind you, son. Always right there behind you."

Connor smiled and Angel felt their connection remove the pain in his side. As one, father and son stepped forward, their movements synchronised as they carved a path through the masses.

Reaching a small gap and knowing he only had seconds to spare, Angel reached out to his son, pulling him close and kissing his forehead.

"I love you, Connor. I always have and I always will, no matter what happens. I love you and I could never be more proud of you. Now run."

Connor moved forward but paused, staring back at his father.

"I love you too. See you at the hotel."

Fighting back attacks from all sides, Angel watched his son run to safety and felt a part of his heart go with him. Feeling the nick of a glancing blow from yet another sword, Angel fully returned to the job at hand and knew he had to find Buffy, had to get her out of there.

Ignoring the pain throughout his body, he surged forward, his movements lightning fast as he delivered blow after deadly blow, his eyes constantly searching for Buffy. He felt hope begin to buoy his heart.

_Maybe Connor's already told her. Maybe she's already gone._

He felt his heart in his mouth as darker thoughts crept in.

_She'd never run. She'd die before she'd run. Buffy…_

Glancing over his shoulder, it was impossible to miss Illyria. Her whole body seemed to be cracking open, shards of light bursting outwards. Instead of absorbing the energy like Willow's white magic from the hotel, Illyria's life force seemed to be slowing the Senior Partner's solidification, the smoke swirling angrily above.

The demons closest to the rift began to look upwards, fear on their ugly visages. Seeing his opportunity, Angel charged forward, weaving between the monsters as he searched for Buffy.

Not too far in the distance, he caught a glimpse of blonde. Darting forward, Angel could think of nothing but making sure she was safe.

Although many of the demons were now staring upwards as the black cloud roared in anger, many more still blocked Angel's way. Something that looked distinctly like a troll was firmly in his path.

Sighing heavily, Angel swung his sword upwards, slicing at the enormous arm. The blow just bounced off the leathery hide, a look of faint amusement passing across the troll's face.

Swallowing hard, Angel ducked and rolled out of the way of a giant foot the size of an elephant's. Springing to his feet, he grabbed another sword from the hands of a fallen demon. Although it was shorter and lighter than his favourite broadsword, Angel knew he could do some serious damage if given the chance.

Feinting left, Angel didn't expect the troll to guess his move and was unprepared for the tree trunk arm that sent him soaring backwards. Landing heavily at least twenty feet away, he came to a skidding halt at the feet of a surprised demon. Swinging out a leg, Angel brought it crashing to the ground and, as he was getting up, twisted its neck sharply, leaving it lying still on the concrete.

Both his weapons bared, he raced forward. Swinging the broadsword above his head to discourage any other demons from approaching, Angel reached the troll and sunk the smaller blade deep in to its arm. It threw its head back in pain, letting out a deep bone-rattling howl.

Seeing his opportunity, Angel used the small sword as a hand hold, swinging himself up on the troll's forearm. Clambering up to the shoulder, the beast tried to bat him away but his stocky arms failed to reach him. It began to thrash about wildly, leaving numerous demons crushed in its wake.

Gripping an ear the size of his own torso, Angel manoeuvred himself to the fleshy area at the base of the troll's neck, his feet firmly placed against the greyish flesh covering the shoulder blades. With all his might, he buried his broadsword deep in to the back of the monster's neck, feeling the spine shatter beneath his blow.

The troll teetered there for a moment with Angel hanging on for dear life, before it simply toppled forwards like a felled tree. The vampire jumped off and headed back to his target, his eyes constantly scanning for another glimpse of blonde.

Glancing back the way he had come, he could barely see Illyria due to the glare that she was creating. Numerous demons were charging towards her but as soon as they came anywhere near the light, they burnt up in seconds.

Angel couldn't help but think of Doyle and his heart sank.

Knowing Illyria was safe from attack but that he didn't have much time, Angel turned back to the armies ahead of him. The roars from the dispersing smoke above seemed to be sending the majority of them back towards the rift, apparently in an attempt to stop the god from ending their takeover.

Suddenly, he saw blonde movement out of the corner of his eye and immediately spun left to find the source. There was something unfamiliar about it however and rounding yet another monster, Angel saw why.

Spike was surrounded. A spider-like creature was attacking him with its numerous limbs while about six others swung at him with swords, axes and barbed tentacles. The bleached blonde vampire seemed to be bleeding from every inch of his body and was obviously struggling.

As much as he hated him half of the time, Angel charged forwards to help, his sword swinging at the spider creature's numerous legs. It turned its multiple eyes on him and he felt a deep sense of revulsion, driving him to bury his sword as deep as he could in to the largest cluster of eyes.

Backing away, he watched warily as the monster's remaining good legs wobbled precariously before the beast finally fell. The blonde vamp offered a hurried but thankful nod at his grandsire. Two of Spike's attackers subsequently turned on Angel who struggled to fight them back.

Not sure if they were freakishly strong or if he was just getting tired, Angel found the pair of them difficult to defeat. As he fought with all the strength he had, he could feel the heat of Illyria's light on his back and felt the panic rising within him.

_I've got to find Buffy._

Just the thought of her gave Angel the drive he needed to finish off his two opponents and he charged towards Spike, hoping the fellow vampire would be able to give him answers to the Slayer's whereabouts.

Spike raised his sword above his head to swing it round, decapitating the demon in front of him. He turned to Angel, a strange look on his face. Angel looked down, seeing the plank of wood sticking out of the blonde's chest and felt his heart fall.

Spike's eyes widened.

"Oh shi…."

He exploded in a hail of dust.

Oz and Xander charged in to the hotel's back yard, both worried by the enormous cracks snaking through the outside walls. The entire structure looked like it was about to collapse and the garden was definitely a hell dimension creation, bizarre and dangerous looking plants growing before their very eyes.

Racing inside, Xander felt a gasp escape his lips. Willow was lying on the lobby floor, her skin deathly pale and her eyes closed. Giles lay slumped over, an enormous gash pouring blood from his right temple.

Xander grabbed the Englishman's shoulders, laying him down gently while Oz checked Willow for a pulse. The instant paling of the werewolf's cheeks told Xander his worse fears had been realised.

Blinking back tears, he felt Giles begin to stir. Turning his attention to the former Watcher, he helped him sit up.

Giles blinked rapidly, his fingers gingerly prodding his wound with a grimace. His eyes were soon drawn to Willow's lifeless form.

"Oh God…"

Xander swallowed hard and scuttled over to his best friend's side, immediately beginning to perform CPR as he battled back the tears. Oz seemed to snap back to reality though his eyes were grieving as he leant down to breathe air in to Willow's lungs.

They performed these actions in silence for five minutes to no avail. Willow was gone. Oz sat back, tears flowing freely down his cheeks as he brushed rebel tendrils of red hair away from her face. Xander shook his head frantically.

"No! No, she's not going to die. She can't! She's Willow…"

He renewed his efforts, ignoring the fact that Giles too had tears on his face. Seeing this father figure cry would be the last straw. He would only have tears if she was dead and Xander refused to accept it. Oz seemed to silently agree, moving back in to position to perform the kiss of life while Giles struggled to move closer, his injury making him dizzy and disorientated.

They kept at it for another five minutes. Then another ten. They couldn't give up, not on Willow. They kept pushing the blood through her body, kept forcing air in to her lungs, kept willing her to come back to them.

After twenty minutes, Xander felt all hope begin to drain out of him as the tears poured down his dirty cheeks. Giles sobbed quietly behind them and Xander knew he had to stop.

Connor suddenly burst through the doors, skidding to a stop at the sight in front of him. Giles's tear stained face looked up at him and Connor just shook his head frantically, moving to Xander's side. He just looked up at him too, unable to find a single word to express the grief that now gripped his heart. Instead, he just looked back down at her, giving her chest one final push.

Willow was gone.

Then she breathed. She actually breathed. Oz's face was just inches from her own and he remained there, frozen in place as he stared down in disbelief.

Willow was actually breathing. Xander felt himself laughing as she began to cough, her eyes flying open and blinking rapidly. Slowly, colour began to creep back in to her lips and cheeks. Xander scooped her up in to his arms, holding her tight to his chest and unable to stop laughing as the relief washed over him.

Oz was still just staring but both Giles and Connor soon joined in the laughter. Suddenly, Oz darted forward, embracing Willow from behind. A muffled protest made both he and Xander pull away, but not too far.

Willow looked up at them with wide eyes, another coughing fit descending on her. Xander grinned down at her, tenderly tucking her hair behind her ears.

"I thought we'd lost you, Will."

She offered an exhausted smile, her voice hoarse.

"How could I leave you lot? You'd be totally lost without me."

Xander laughed and held her tight again, eventually relinquishing her to Oz, if only so he could move away to brush off his tears and take a steadying breath. Connor clapped a thankful hand on his shoulder and beamed at him happily.

Giles sighed with relief, steadying himself against the counter as Willow pulled away from Oz slightly, turning to face the entire group.

"Where are the others? What happened?"

An enormously bright light flashed outside, blinding everyone in the lobby, followed by a deafening roar. A large whoosh sounded and everything outside the glass doors seemed to be sucked backwards in a powerful wind.

His eyes wide and full of fear, Connor stood frozen on the spot.

_Angel? Where's Angel? Where's my daddy…_

Spike turned around, a strange look on his face. Angel looked down, seeing the plank of wood sticking out of the blonde's chest and felt his heart sink.

Spike's eyes widened.

"Oh shi…."

He exploded in a hail of dust, revealing another blonde behind him, her eyes widening in shock and grief.

Angel raced forward, trying to avoid the ash as best as he could, desperate to reach Buffy. A single tear traced a path through the dirt on her cheek and he wiped it away, his heart breaking for her.

_If only there was time, I'd wipe all your tears away._

He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly to pull her back to the here and now. After a few moments, her sad eyes locked with his and he leaned in close, the kiss brief but intense, comforting them both.

Angel pulled back, her face cupped in his hands as he glanced over his shoulder.

_If only there was time, there's so much I need to say._

He turned back to her, his face grim.

"Buffy, we need to get out of here now. Illyria's about to close the rift. It takes the power of the sun so you can imagine how much we shouldn't be here right now."

Her eyes widened.

"Connor?"

Angel smiled, touched by her concern for his son, aware it wasn't something that she would have been able to accept too easily.

"He's back at the hotel. We've got to go. Now!"

She nodded mutely, her eyes still wide. Angel felt her move away from him as he turned back to look at Illyria. All he could see of her now was a faint silhouette, the light hurting his eyes as he watched her launch herself into a swan dive.

The demons around them froze in fear as the smoke above seemed to burst and flow outwards before suddenly getting sucked back in with an agonised roar. The light seemed to absorb it but then it suddenly grew impossibly bright, spreading out toward them.

_There's not enough time._

Angel spun on his heel and dove forward, knocking Buffy to the ground and covering her with his entire body as he gripped at the cracks in the ground, attempting to keep a strong hold.

Underneath him, Buffy could barely see anything. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the feet of numerous demons sweep past, never even touching the ground as they were sucked towards the rift with piercing screams.

Grabbing at Angel's chest, she felt the power of Illyria's sacrifice pulling at them and the heat of the light above her. Fear began to restrict her chest as she buried her head against Angel's breast, realising what he was doing for her.

The roar of the wind and the brightness of the light began to die down, and Angel pulled slightly up, giving Buffy more room to breathe. He looked down at her, her eyes wide. Even for a vampire, he was impossibly pale and he knew it. He knew why.

_There's never enough time._

The tears flowing freely now, she smiled at him, nothing but love and admiration in her eyes.

"You saved me."

He smiled back down at her, the pain subsiding with the look in her eye.

"Of course I did. You're my girl."

Buffy could feel his weight on her getting less and less as he paled even more and she clutched at him, determined to never let him go. He just smiled down at her, acceptance in his eyes. She did her best to smile back through the tears.

"Always."

With her final words to her greatest love, the warmth of the breeze carried him away and all Angel felt was peace.

He finally found some peace.


	22. Epilogue

The last of the day's light danced across the water, its rippling reflection moving across his face as he watched the sun sink towards the horizon amid a sky of salmon pinks and dusty golds.

He let the ocean swirl around his ankles as he stared. The world really was a beautiful place. Well, at least when it wasn't being sucked in to demon dimensions or Hellmouths anyway.

He sighed contentedly, not moving a muscle as he just absorbed the life around him. The children's laughter on the pier, the salty breeze, the sand between his toes, the thumping of his heart, it was all just so real. But he knew it couldn't be.

A familiar scent made him smile. He would recognise that perfume anywhere. He turned with a wide grin. All in white, Cordelia grinned right back.

"Hey Angel."

His smile faltered slightly.

"Is this…?"

He swallowed hard, cleared his throat and tried again.

"I'm dead."

Cordelia moved to his side, staring out at the ocean with wistful eyes.

"Beautiful, isn't it? I always felt a little sorry for you, you know. To live all those years, centuries even, and not being able to watch the sun set or rise, not getting to see the things that people do away from the shadows. Not being able to do the things that people do…"

Angel turned his gaze on her, watching the sunset in her eyes. She smiled, still staring out at the horizon.

"The prophecies always said that you would die today, Angel. Even The Powers That Be couldn't change that. _I_ couldn't change that. Not that the world will ever know the sacrifices you made. As far as their concerned, LA saw the worst earthquakes and tropical storms in history. I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

He nodded slowly, accepting what had happened. He'd known from the minute he had found himself stood here on this beach, the sun low in the sky and peace in his heart. For the first time in over two hundred years, Angel did not feel the pull of the monster within him. Death was his freedom.

Turning his gaze back to the ocean, he watched the sunset end in silence.

"Willow and the others? Connor? Are they ok?"

Cordelia smiled sadly.

"With the exception of Spike and Illyria, they made it through. Your son misses you."

He felt her continue watching him with that sad smile but it still took him five minutes to summon the courage to ask the question he dreaded.

"And Buffy… Is she ok?"

Cordelia nodded slowly.

"She made it through the End of Days, just like you promised her she would. As for being ok…"

Her voice tailed off and she turned to face him properly, seeing the tears in his eyes and feeling them in her own too.

"She lost the love of her life to all of this. She lost hope."

Angel didn't say a word but Cordelia could see the pleading in his eyes, the love there that he once offered up to her. She sighed heavily, a slight smile pulling at her mouth as she spoke.

"Here's a fun fact for you. Buffy grew up not that far from here, back when her parents were still together and she had no idea of the future that had already been planned for her. Back then, she was happy. She used to sit on this beach and watch the ocean, imagining what possibilities lay ahead. Now she sits on this beach and imagines what could have been."

"That's not really so much a _fun_ fact, Cordy. If anything, it's verging on the depressing."

She gave him a knowing smile.

"Not when you really think about it. What could have been doesn't matter anymore, Angel. It's what happens next that counts."

Cordelia pointed down the beach a fair distance. There was the silhouette of a petite woman, arms folded around her, staring out to sea. He didn't need to see her face, he knew it was Buffy. And he knew she was crying.

He took a step towards her and paused, throwing his words over his shoulder as he was too scared to look Cordelia in the eye for fear of what he might find there.

"But what happens next? How can I console her, how can I make this right if I'm dead? She doesn't deserve this, Cordy! What happens next?"

He felt her hand on his arm, forcing him to turn and look at her. She was smiling that big broad grin of hers and he felt a flicker of hope.

"Next… Next, you finally get to do the things that men do."

She let go of his arm, knowing he understood.

"But the prophecies…"

"You really think I'd let you sign away your future? Can't be done, mister. You don't get out of this that easy. You've made so many sacrifices since your soul was returned. You thought you'd signed away any chance of redemption, of hope, but you still sacrificed yourself to do the right thing. I think it's safe to say you earned this."

She punched him playfully on the arm.

"I'm proud of you, big guy!"

He nodded slowly, realising death was not his freedom. Life was.

"So I'm really… I can… I'm not…"

"Yes, Pinocchio, you're a real boy."

She sighed heavily, her words sincere as he just stared at her open mouthed.

"You did a lot of bad things in your past, Angel, but that wasn't you. That's not even really part of you anymore. The demon's gone. Now, it's all down to you which way you go. You're gonna find it hard for a while. There's a lot you need to learn. But you'll get it. I know you will."

Her smile slipped slightly as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Goodbye Angel. I hopefully won't be seeing you again anytime soon."

"Cordy, I…"

He didn't know what to say so he just reached out and wiped the tear away. He paused there for a moment then pulled her into a tight embrace, his words buried in her hair.

"Thank you."

She pulled away, nodding sadly as she gently kissed him on the cheek.

"You're more than welcome. Now go. The clock is ticking. And for the first time in your un-naturally long life, that actually means something."

Angel smiled and raced away down the beach, his heart pounding so much he thought his chest was going to explode. He considered the thought for a moment.

_I have a beating heart, I have air in my lungs, I have the sun on my face. I have freedom._

Looking ahead of him, his smile grew wider and brighter with every step.

_I have love and hope and a mortal life._

He was facing her back, her long blonde hair tousled in the breeze that danced along with the flimsy summer dress she was wearing. He remembered the dream she had told him about, back when she had killed him, imagining he was still there and holding her. He wondered if she was still dreaming that.

Swallowing hard, Angel stepped forward and slid his arms around her waist. She jerked round, a look of shock and confusion playing on her face. He smiled and after a few moments, her emotions were replaced by disappointment.

"I'm just dreaming again. I saw you die, felt you fade in my arms. I've lost you and this time it's forever."

Angel moved around to stand in front of her, his hands still firmly placed on her waist. He couldn't bear to let her go again.

"I did die, Buffy, but nothing's forever. Who really stays dead that long around here anyway?"

Her eyes widened as she stared at him, shaking her head slightly in disbelief.

"No… I'm just dreaming! This isn't real, it can't be."

He pulled her to him, kissing her with a passion and urgency that surprised even him. After a few seconds, she relaxed into the embrace, her passion equalling his own. Eventually, they parted and saw that they were both on the verge of tears. Buffy struggled to speak.

"But this can't be… You said…"

He grinned at her.

"For once, I'm happy to admit I was wrong. Just don't get used to it…"

Buffy's hand snaked down from his shoulder to his chest, feeling the beat beneath her fingers and her own heart soared.

Looking deep into his eyes, she knew that her dreams had been realised. The tears still came but there was no sadness there now. She grabbed him and pulled him into a long embrace, burying her face into his chest and feeling him kissing the top of her head.

"I can't believe this. This is real?"

His voice was muffled in her hair.

"It's real. It's finally real."

She tilted her head up to his, their lips now only inches apart.

"You're human. We can be a normal couple. I mean, only if you want to…"

The grin on his face and the look in his eye said it all.

"I want to. For the rest of our lives, I want to."

Buffy smiled, her lips brushing against his as she spoke.

"So… What do we do now?"

He cocked an eyebrow, a glint flashing in his eye.

"Now I get to do the things that men do."

She grinned, a cheeky smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Oh really… And what exactly does that mean?"

His fingers traced the line of her jaw, his smile softening as he kissed her forehead.

"That means I finally get to be the man I always wanted to be. That means leaving the toilet seat up, watching too much sports on tv, eating a lot of junk food…"

She punched him in the arm and he flinched.

"Hey, mortal man now! Careful with the superpower stuff!"

Buffy smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"Sorry. Guess that's just one more thing I'm going to have to get used to. I just can't believe this is happening. You're here and you're human. You came back to me."

Angel sighed happily, drinking in every detail of her face with fresh eyes.

"Of course I did, Buffy. You're my girl."

She smiled and he saw something in her eyes, something beyond the tears and the love he knew was reflected in his own gaze. He saw hope again.

Buffy leaned in close, her eyes locked on his, determined that they would never leave each other again.

"Always."


End file.
